Abstract: Within greater society, there is a distinct problem of a lack of space for Indigenous women. We have few places outside our Indigenous communities that give us a sense of belonging. It is even more difficult to find these spaces for Indigenous Deaf women, Deaf-parented Indigenous women, and Indigenous hearing women who are allies within the Indigenous Deaf community. Overlooked and dismissed, Indigenous Deaf women have the unique struggle of being outcasts from both Deaf and Indigenous communities. Therefore, some of us have made our own community known as Turtle Island Hand Talk, led by Indigenous Deaf women who focus on braiding our relationships. The concept of braiding is metaphorical, entwining three groups of Indigenous women: Indigenous Deaf women, Deaf-parented Indigenous women, and hearing Indigenous women. The braided strands suggest a harmonious relationship between all Indigenous women to form connections that serve our shared signing Native communities. Indigenous women who exist within these shared signing Native communities have reclaimed traditional signs and invented modernized signs alongside the reclaimed and revitalized language. Through banding together, we are actively bringing lost languages back into use and are further building a system of common signs among the group. We have formed a unique community where we can gain traditional knowledge from the Indigenous woman's perspective and cultivate shared Indigenous women's knowledge.
Melanie McKay-Cody (Sun,) studied this question.