'This is not just another book! It is a riveting narrative of an endangered Native American sign language that has served an essential role in Native American culture and life. For sign language studies, Native American studies, linguistics, anthropology, and a host of other allied professionals, as well as for the American public, Jeff Davis has made a momentous professional and social contribution. This is a landmark work that deserves the widest professional and popular audience.' Walt Wolfram, North Carolina State University
1. The language landscape; 2. Earliest historical linguistic accounts; 3. A national treasure; 4. Early sign language studies; 5. The spectrum of discourse; 6. The convergence of anthropology and linguistics; 7. Comparative studies of historical relatedness; 8. Linguistic analysis of PISL; 9. Conclusions.