Most Americans take indoor plumbing for granted. But American Indians living on reservations can’t. As the graph below shows, their households were as likely to lack complete plumbing facilities (hot and cold piped water, a flush toilet, and a bathtub or shower) in 1990 as all U.S. households were in the 1950’s!

This Brief, one of a series, uses data collected in the 1990 Census of Population and Housing to examine housing characteristics of American Indian households on reservations and their associated trust lands. (The term “American Indian households” includes all units where the householder has identified himself or herself as American Indian, Eskimo, or Aleut.) This Brief investigates not only their chances of lacking complete plumbing, but also their source of water and method of sewage disposal. It compares them with both American Indian households living off reservations and all households in the United States.

There are 314 reservations and trust lands in the United States. Trust lands are property associated with a particular American Indian reservation or tribe, held in trust by the Federal Government. In this Brief, the term “reservation” also includes trust lands.