Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute

In 1966, Beatrix and R. Allen Gardner began Project Washoe by cross-fostering (i.e. one species raising another, in this case humans raising a chimpanzee) the chimpanzee Washoe as if she were a deaf child at the University of Nevada at Reno. A vital component of the cross-fostering environment was the exclusive use of American Sign Language (ASL) in communication between Washoe and her caregivers. Raised in this environment, Washoe acquired the signs of ASL in much the same way that deaf human children acquire the signs, making her the first non-human in history to acquire a human language. In 1967 Roger Fouts entered Project Washoe as a graduate assistant and became intimately involved in the daily care of Washoe and exposing her to ASL. In 1970, Washoe, accompanied by Roger Fouts and his wife Deborah Fouts, moved to the Institute of Primate Studies (IPS) at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma. For the first time Washoe was able to interact with other chimpanzees. At the IPS, in addition to working with Washoe, Roger Fouts exposed other chimpanzees at the Institute to ASL.

The next step in the study was to see if a chimpanzee mother, Washoe, could transmit the acquisition of American Sign Language to an infant chimpanzee. On January 9, 1979 Washoe gave birth to a male infant, Sequoyah, and it seemed the project could move forward. However, Sequoyah suffered from a number of health setbacks during the first months of his life and ultimately succumbed to pneumonia on March 8, 1979. The opportunity to study the transmission of ASL from mother to infant was ultimately revitalized with the introduction of another infant chimpanzee, thus beginning Project Loulis (1979-1985). On March 29, 1979, Washoe was introduced to a 10 month old infant, Loulis, whose own mother was unable to care for him. During the early years of Loulis’s life, humans were restricted from signing around him. Loulis learned his signs from Washoe and from the other signing chimpanzees, making him the only chimpanzee ever to acquire a human language from a conspecific.

The Gardners' cross-fostered other young chimpanzees: Moja, Tatu, and Dar, who also acquired the signs of ASL; Moja joined Washoe, Loulis, and the Foutses in Oklahoma in 1979. By this point, Roger Fouts was looking for a new place to call home for the chimpanzees under his care and for his research. In 1980, the Foutses moved with Washoe, Loulis, and Moja to Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington. In 1981, Dar and Tatu joined the other chimpanzees at Central Washington University. Originally housed in the Psychology Building, the chimpanzees were relocated to the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute in 1993 which was specifically built with their needs in mind. Roger and Deborah co-directed the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute until their retirement in 2011. The current director, Dr. Mary Lee Jensvold, has been a member of the research team since 1986 and studied under Drs. Fouts and Gardner.

The research that continues today with the cross-fostered adult chimpanzees shows they use their signs in spontaneous, appropriate, and conversational ways with their human caregivers and each other. They sign to initiate activities, comment on their world, request, respond to questions, and clarify misunderstandings. They adjust their signing to their conversational partner, for example they slow down their signing for new signers. They sign to themselves like humans talk to themselves. They use their signs in imaginary play, for example signing to stuffed animals. They draw pictures and name the images they create.

While the main objectives of Project Washoe and Project Loulis have come to a close, the chimpanzees continue to serve as the focus of continuous research studies. Thirty undergraduates intern each academic year and participate in the daily care and enrichment of the chimpanzees. Nine graduate students per academic year work towards their Masters of Science degrees in Experimental Psychology and Primate Behavior with CHCI as their research host. CHCI also runs a Summer Apprentice program which allows students and faculty to gain experience working with the chimpanzees as well as learning the history of the project. Additionally, CHCI has played host to a number of visiting researchers, drawing both nationally and internationally, who have conducted new research as well as utilizing the over forty years of data housed on-site.

From the guide to the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute Records, 1970-2012 (bulk 1980-2012), (Central Washington University Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute)