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2021
November 2021
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U.S. Census Bureau History: American Indians and Alaska Natives
An Inuit woman and her baby photographed in the Arctic region of Alaska in 1912.
Although her baby was too young, the woman would have been one of the 64,356 residents, and
25,331 "Indians" enumerated in Alaska during the 1910 Census.
In 2019, Alaska was home to 147,358 people reporting they were American Indian and Alaska
Native alone or in combination with one or more races. Nationwide, 5,665,200 people reported they
were American Indian and Alaska Native alone or in combination with one or more races that same year.
Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.
President George H.W. Bush first signed a joint resolution designating November as National American Indian Heritage Month in 1990. Also known as American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) Heritage Month, the commemoration offers Americans an opportunity to better understand the culture and history of the people who made North America home long before the arrival of European settlers. Just as AIAN populations have fought a long and complicated battle over recognition, land, and sovereignty, so too have they struggled for inclusion and equality in censuses and surveys. Often overlooked by our nation's first enumerations, the U.S. Census Bureau's data collection has evolved so that today's data paint a vibrant picture of a growing AIAN population whose culture and heritage are increasingly influencing the lives of everyone living in the nation.
The United States has conducted a census of its population every 10 years since 1790, but it has not always been inclusive of all people living in its states and territories. For decades, American Indians and Alaska Natives living on reservations or tribal communities (i.e., "Indians not taxed") were excluded from the census. The small American Indian and Alaska Native populations living among the general population were recorded as either "White" or "Other Free Person" due to the limited race reporting options in the early censuses. It was not until the 1860 Census that American Indians "who have renounced tribal rule, and who under State or Territorial laws exercise the rights of citizens" were recorded as "Indian" by enumerators who were instructed to write "Ind" in the "Color" column of the questionnaire. Ten years later, Superintendent of the Census Francis Amasa Walker (former Superintendent of Indian Affairs) attempted to expand the collection of data about American Indians by giving additional instructions to enumerators. Unfortunately, budget constraints prevented publication of these data.
The Census Act of March 30, 1879, authorized the Census Bureau to attempt to enumerate all American Indians living among the general public as well as on reservations and in areas that were not settled by White or Black populations using a special 48-inquiry questionnaire. In Alaska, enumerators used another special schedule for the entire population that allowed for the collection of Native Alaska-specific tribal information. Detailed data about the Alaska Native population were published in the Report on the Population, Industries, and Resources of Alaska compiled by special agent Ivan Petrof.
Beginning in 1900, legislation specifically included the enumeration of American Indians on and off of reservations. Special schedules in 1900 and again in 1910 asked additional questions about the tribal affiliation of the named person and their parents; proportion of Indian blood; marital status; and questions about polygamy, taxes, citizenship, allotments, and dwelling type. A question about institutional education was also added in 1910. During the 1920 and 1930 Censuses, response to the "Color or Race" question/column on the general population questionnaire identified American Indians. In 1930, the enumerator asked if the person was of full or mixed Indian blood and tribal affiliation instead of asking for the country of birth of the parents on the general population schedule. As in the past, enumerators in Alaska used a variation of the general population schedule that included dedicated columns for Alaska Native's tribal affiliation. The Census Bureau published the 1930 data in The Indian Population of the United States and Alaska.
Following passage of the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 and subsequent litigation, all American Indians and Alaska Natives were enumerated with the general population beginning in 1940. Widespread implementation of a mail-in census questionnaire in 1970 meant race and tribal affiliation became self-reported and was no longer subject to errors due to an enumerator's inaccurate assessment when completing the forms. Self-reporting led to a steady increase in the populations of American Indians and Alaska natives each census. In 1997, the Office of Management and Budget's Statistical Policy Directive, No. 15, Race and Ethnic Standards for Federal Statistics and Administrative Reporting permitted all census and survey respondents to identify as one of six races (i.e, White, Black, American Indian and Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, Asian, Some Other Race), or more than one race (i.e., American Indian and Alaska Native and White, or three or more races, such as American Indian and Alaska Native, White, and Asian). As a result of these expanded race reporting options, the American Indian and Alaska Native population grew from 1,959,234 in 1990 to 4,119,301 people identifying as American Indian and Alaska Native alone or in combination with some other race during the 2000 Census—the first to implement Statistical Policy Directive No. 15 guidelines. In 2010, the number grew to 5,220,579. More recently, the American Community Survey reported 5,665,200 American Indians or Alaska Natives alone or in combination with one or more other races in 2019.
Decennial census records—including those for American Indians and Alaska Natives—are available from the National Archives and Records Administration 72 years after census day, with the most recent release being the 1940 Census records in April 2012. Records from the 1950 Census will be released in April 2022. In addition to these decennial census records, the National Archives also has special censuses, "Indian Census Rolls" (1885–1940), and "Dawes Rolls" (1898–1914) that contain information about American Indians and Alaska Natives. If a visit to the National Archives is not possible, contact your local public, college, or university library to inquire if they have subscribed to one of the genealogy subscription services that have digitized these records and made them searchable from your home or library computer.
You can learn more about the American Indian and Alaska Native populations in the United States using census data and records. For example:
- Since the 19th century, the U.S. Census Bureau has tried to hire census takers with the local knowledge and language skills most prevalent in the areas to be enumerated, including American Indians and Alaska Natives living on and off of reservations. Learn more about the Census Bureau's American Indian and Alaska Native supervisors and enumerators Wayne H. and Sydnee C. Chattin, Preeman Johnson McClure, Captain Dave Numana, Kathryn Dyakanoff Seller, and many others with fascinating and diverse backgrounds at our Notable Alumni Web pages.
- The United States conducted its first census in Alaska in 1870 under the direction of Major General Henry W. Halleck. Due to duplication, errors, and even the inclusion of a nonexistent tribe, researchers consider the data to be unreliable. Ten years later, Kodiak, AK, resident Ivan Petrof and his agents began the enumeration of Alaska in the Aleutian Islands town of Attu. The 2-year process counted 33,426 total inhabitants in Alaska, including 430 Whites, 1,756 Creoles, 17,617 "Innuit," 2,145 Aleut, 3,927 Tinneh, 6,793 Thlinket, and 788 Hyda. The Alaska Territory's Kuskokvim Division was most populous with a total population of 8,911, followed by the Southeastern Division with a population of 7,748. The Census Bureau published Petrof's complete report, Report on the Population, Industries, and Resources of Alaska in 1884.
- Census records identify few American Indians prior to 1860. During the 1860 Census, enumerators only included American Indians living in the general population and identified them as "White" or "Some Other Race." In 1890, the Census Bureau published its Report on Indians Taxed and Indians Not Taxed in the United States (except Alaska), which included data on all American Indians living in the United States, but the actual records used to compile the report were destroyed in a 1921 fire. The 1900 Census enumerated Indians living in the general population and on reservations. In that year, the American Indian population totaled 237,196. Among the American Indians in the 1900 Census are Apache Indian leader and medicine man Geronimo, who was living as a prisoner of war with other Chiricahua Apache Indians at Fort Sill, near Lawton, OK; and several Cheyenne and Lakota participants in the 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn, including: Black Elk, Flying Hawk, and He Dog (living at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, headquartered in Pine Ridge, SD); and Two Moons, who was living at the Tongue River Reservation (Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, headquartered in Lame Deer, MT).
- Between 1885 and 1940, agents or superintendents in charge of American Indian reservations often conducted special censuses and submitted the results to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. Data in the U.S. Indian Census Rolls usually include the English and/or Indian name of the person, roll number, age or date of birth, sex, and relationship to head of family. Prominent American Indian leaders and warriors included in these census rolls were: He Dog, Chief Gall (1892 and 1894), Sitting Bull, One Bull, Black Moon, Rain in the Face, Kicking Bear, and Hollow Horn Bear.
- The number of people reporting they were American Indian alone or in combination during the 2020 Census was 9,666,058—an 85.2 percent since 2010. California led the nation with 1,409,609 reporting they were American Indian or Alaska Native alone or in combination, followed by Texas (794,062), Oklahoma 633,831), and Arizona (453,560).
- Thousands of cities, towns, rivers, lakes, and natural features in the United States are named for prominent American Indians or have been translated from American Indian languages. For example, Pismo Beach, CA, is derived from the Chumash word "pismu" for tar; Arapahoe County, CO, is named for the Arapaho people who populated the plains of Colorado and Wyoming; Hialeah, FL, translated from the Muscogee language means "pretty prairie"; Geneseo, IL, is a variation of an Iroquois word meaning "beautiful valley"; Shipshewana, IN, is named for a Potawatomi chief of the same name; Mississippi's LeFlore County is named for Choctaw Indian Chief Greenwood LeFlore; the Lenape tribe named Punxsutawney, PA, which translates to "town of mosquitoes" or "town of sandflies"; and although most people prefer to call a lake in Webster, MA, "Webster Lake," signs in the region still refer to its formal Algonquin name, "Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg."
- Just as American Indians have lent their names and languages to cities, towns, and natural wonders, so too have Alaska Natives left their mark on the state of Alaska. Examples include: Ketchikan, AK, which was named for Ketchikan Creek, and is translated from the Tlingit language meaning "thundering wings of an eagle"; located on Alaska's Cook Inlet, Wasilla, AK, was named for Denai'ina Athabascan Alaska Native Chief Wasilla; Kenai, AK, located south of Anchorage, AK, and famous for its salmon fishing, is translated from a Tanaina word meaning "flat, open meadow without trees"; Kodiak, AK, located on Kodiak Island, is translated from the Alutiiq word for "island"; and Unalaska, AK—the largest city in the Aleutian Islands—is translated from the Aleut word "Ounalashka," which means "near the peninsula."
- In 2018, the Annual Business Survey reported that there were 24,433 American Indian and Alaska Native employer firms in the United States. These firms employed 200,256 people and had sales, value of shipments, or revenue of $33.7 billion. Included among these firms were 8,985 women-owned firms employing 71,754 people, and reporting sales, value of shipments, or revenue of nearly $10.2 billion.
- At 96.9 percent, Kusilvak Census Area, AK led the nation with the highest percentage of people identifying as American Indian alone or in combination during the 2020 Census. Other counties with a high percentage of people reporting they are American Indian or Alaska Natives alone or in combination included: Oglala Lakota County, SD (95.6%); Todd County, SD (91.3%); Sioux County, ND (89.4%); Bethel Census Area, AK (88.5%); Northwest Arctic Borough, AK (88.1%); Menominee County, WI (87.6%); Buffalo County, SD (84.8%); Dewey County, SD (82.7%); and Nome Census Area, AK(82.6%).
- The U.S. Census Bureau publishes data about American Indians and Alaska Natives, but not "Native Americans." The term "Native American" can include all people indigenous to the United States and its territories—including Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders—whose data are published separately from American Indians and Alaska Natives. According to the 2010 Census, 1,225,195 people in the United States identified as Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone or in combination with one or more other races. More recently, the 2020 Census found that the population of people reporting Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone or in combination with one or more races was 1,586,463.
by U.S. Census Bureau Historian Christopher Martin.
The U.S. Census Bureau featured the carved Buffalo Dance Relief by famous American Indian artist Allan Houser (Allan Capron Haozous) on its 2000 Census poster
encouraging the nation's American Indian population to respond to the census.
The Census Bureau modified its "This is your future. Don't leave it blank." advertising campaign slogan to "Generations are counting on this. Don't Leave it Blank." because
the appeal to multiple generations created a stronger connection among American Indian and Alaska Native focus groups.
In 2000, more than 4.1 million (1.5 percent) of the nation's 281.4 million people reported they were American Indian and Alaska Native. This included 2.5 million people who
reported only American Indian and Alaska Native in addition to 1.6 million people who reported American Indian and Alaska Native in combination with one or more other races.
Photo courtesy of the Smithsonian Institute.
Did you know?
In November 1621, the Pilgrims living in Plymouth, MA celebrated a feast of thanksgiving with the Wampanoag Indians.
In 1621, there were about 40,000 Wampanoags living in New England. During the 2010 Census, 6,500 people reported being Wampanoag alone or in combination with another race.
View larger image
Census Sticks
The U.S. Census Bureau tries to hire enumerators with local knowledge and language skills in an effort to collect the most accurate census and survey data.
During the 19th century, the American Indian supervisors and enumerators who visited villages to conduct censuses often used non-English methods of counting the Indian population. During the 1860 Census, enumerators counting Nokoni Commanche Indians in Texas and New Mexico used "census sticks" (above) that represented people in each village. In 1880, Paiute Indian chief "Captain" Dave Numana, used a similar method of counting with sticks when he supervised the count of American Indians in Nevada.
Many Paiute Indians were uncomfortable speaking English, Numana instructed his enumerators to draw pictograms of the homes they visited on a map. He transferred the data from the pictograms to notched sticks, bundled them by village, and sent them to the Census Bureau where clerks tabulated the data contained on the sticks.
Although, the Census Bureau did not publish the 1880 Indian data, Numana's pictograms and notched sticks helped enumerate 3,171 Paiute Indians in the Pyramid Lake region of Nevada.
In 1890, the Census Bureau published American Indian biographies of important tribal leaders, photos, and data in Report on Indians Taxed and Indians Not Taxed in the United States (Except Alaska).
Among the biographies was one for Captain Dave Numana, which noted he could, "call to mind the English and Indian name of nearly every Indian at Pyramid Lake and Wadsworth."
Learn more about Captain Dave Numana and other American Indians and Alaska Natives employed by the Census Bureau at our Notable Alumni Web page.
Photo courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution.
View larger image
For the Record
Jim Thorpe was born near the Prague, OK, in 1887. As a member of the Sac and Fox Nation, he attend the Sac and Fox Indian Agency School in Stroud, OK, and the Haskell Institute near Lawrence, KS. He later attended the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, PA, where he played football for coaching legend Glenn "Pop" Warner.
In addition to being a talented football, baseball, and lacrosse player, Thorpe also made a name for himself on the dance floor, winning the 1912 intercollegiate ballroom dancing championship.
As a member of the U.S. Olympic Team at the 1912 Summer Olympics, Thorpe led the decathlon and pentthalon teams to gold medals. Upon returning home, Thorpe was honored with a ticker-tape parade in New York City, NY, on August 24, 1912.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) later stripped Thorpe of his Olympic medals after learning he violated Olympic rules by playing professional baseball prior to the 1912 games.
After the 1912 Olympics, Thorpe played professional baseball and football, and later became the first president of the American Professional Football Association. As his sports career ebbed, Thorpe received small, often uncredited movie roles playing an American Indian or athlete.
In 1951, Thorpe was inducted into College Football Hall of Fame. He joined the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963 and the National Native American Hall of Fame
in 2018.In 1982, the IOC reversed the 1913 decision
that stripped Thorpe of his gold medals.Nearly 7 decades have passed since Thorpe's death in 1953, but he is still considered one of America's "Greatest Athletes" alongside legends like Babe Ruth and Jesse Owens.
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