View the image of William Tomkins, shaking hands with Sioux Native American Chief Crow Eagle. Tomkins served as Secretary of the San Diego Chamber of Commerce from 1913-1915 and again from 1917-1921. He was also an expert in the study of Indian sign language. 
In 1926, William Tomkins’ self-published the “Universal Indian Sign Language of the Plains Indians of North America,” followed by "A Culture Attainment of the First American- Universal Indian Sign Language.”