Tucson Standard

Melanie McKay-Cody's interest in Native American sign languages began at the age of 10 when she discovered a book on the subject at the Oklahoma School for the Deaf. This early fascination set her on a path to document, preserve, and revitalize these languages.

McKay-Cody, an assistant professor at the University of Arizona College of Education, has become a leading researcher in North American Indian Sign Language. Her work focuses on understanding and preserving this vast network of sign languages and dialects that have been used for millennia.

Reflecting on her initial discovery, McKay-Cody said, "It immediately piqued my interest, and I immediately recognized the differences between these Indian signs and American Sign Language."

Her journey into history was influenced by her paternal Cherokee heritage and connections to other tribes through her mother's lineage. This led her to Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., where she studied museum studies, art history, and the history of the American West.

While working at various archives and institutions like the National Archives and Gallaudet's archives, McKay-Cody found historical records on Native sign languages. Her research expanded as she pursued further education at institutions such as the University of Kansas and later earned a doctoral degree from the University of Oklahoma.

McKay-Cody is currently focused on building a video dictionary with over 900 terms representing 13 tribal sign languages. This project aims to document individual signs from across North American Indian Sign Language while ensuring tribes maintain control over their own languages.

"The language belongs to Native people," McKay-Cody emphasized. She highlighted concerns about "their Hand Talk being polluted by ASL" and stressed that access to certain parts of the dictionary will be restricted based on discussions with each tribe involved.

A grant from the National Science Foundation in partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities is funding this initiative. Reflecting on her career path since discovering that book as a child, McKay-Cody remarked: "Back then, if somebody had told me...I never would have believed them."