Deaf culture

Gallaudet's Bison Song

The Bison Song is a traditional sports song at Gallaudet University since the 1960s. It is presented by Gallaudet performers -- one female and one male -- in ASL for Gallaudet sports teams.

Annual audition is held for the Bison Song finalists to be chosen, one female and one male performer, to perform this song at Gallaudet games and events for a year.

The original Bison Song was written by Dorothy Miles, Gallaudet student (Class of 1961), in English. Since then, there has been three different versions of the Bison Song. Besides these versions in English, it has been always translated to ASL in performances. Other schools for the deaf have adopted their own percussion song based on the model of Bison Song.

Below is a couple of examples of the Gallaudet Bison Song. Every year, there has been a different style by different couples of performers.

It is a brief clipping of the video Bison Song above. However, below is a full version of the song.

References

Tom Harrington, librarian. "The Gallaudet Bison". Gallaudet University Library. http://library.gallaudet.edu/deaf-faq-bison.shtml

Related posts

You may also be interested in Thousand Hands: a famous Chinese Deaf dancers.

New to sign language? "Where do I start?" or "How do I start learning sign language?" This ASL Rookie guide lists some selected links to the tutorials for ASL beginners to get started and keep rolling. It may be a useful review for intermediate-level learners and ASL students as well.

Some tutorial pages are a mix of free and premium versions. Access to premium content and links below are available in the PatronPlus subscription. More links/posts will be added from time to time.

Expressing needs and wants

  1. Making commands or requests

Talking about activities

  1. Frequency of time: how often?

Are you able to carry everyday conversations in ASL? Are you a student in the intermediate levels and beyond, who wishes to boost up your signing skills? You've come to the selected tutorial series. (Some premium content are available to PatronPlus membership.)

Stories, poems, performance arts, etc. in sign language.

This documentation project follows a child's language acquisition, literacy development, and phonological acquisition in sign language, specifically ASL, from newborn to age five in a natural native-ASL environment and visual culture.