Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In 2024, Ayisha Knight-Shaw, a Deaf Indigenous consultant, served as the Smithsonian Folklife Festival’s director of artistic sign language. For the “Indigenous Voices of the Americas” program, she worked with our team of fifteen ASL interpreters to better understand relevant vocabulary in an ever-evolving language.
In this video, Knight-Shaw shares some of her approach to respectful interpreting and her favorite performances at the Festival. Read more about creating Deaf access in a Native space in the Festival Blog: https://s.si.edu/4jb8IrK
Editing: Anna Beth Lee
© Smithsonian Institution, 2024
In 2024, Ayisha Knight-Shaw, a Deaf Indigenous consultant, served as the Smithsonian Folklife Festival’s director of artistic sign language. For the “Indigenous Voices of the Americas” program, she worked with our team of fifteen ASL interpreters to better understand relevant vocabulary in an ever-evolving language.
In this video, Knight-Shaw shares some of her approach to respectful interpreting and her favorite performances at the Festival. Read more about creating Deaf access in a Native space in the Festival Blog: https://s.si.edu/4jb8IrK
Editing: Anna Beth Lee
© Smithsonian Institution, 2024
