aian "Status of Amer. Indians' Housing on Reservations" (4/10/95)
            EMBARGOED UNTIL:  APRIL 10, 1995 (MONDAY)
Public Information Office                              CB95-74
301-457-2794
301-457-4067 (TDD)
Robert Bonnette
301-763-8553
               CENSUS BUREAU REPORTS ON STATUS OF
            AMERICAN INDIANS' HOUSING ON RESERVATIONS
                                
     EMBARGOED UNTIL:  APRIL 10, 1995 (MONDAY)  Less than half of
American Indians' housing on reservations was connected to public
sewers and many lacked complete plumbing or kitchens, according
to three statistical briefs released today by the Commerce
Department's Census Bureau focusing on the state of American
Indian housing in 1990.
     The briefs are titled "Housing of American Indians on
Reservations -- Plumbing" (SB/95-9); "Housing of American Indians
on Reservations -- Equipment and Fuels" (SB/95-11); and "Housing
of American Indians on Reservations--Structural Characteristics"
(SB/95-10).  They examine housing data for U.S. reservations and
trust lands collected in the 1990 Census of Population and
Housing.  They also examine plumbing equipment, fuels, and
structural characteristics for the 48 reservations with 500 or
more American Indian households.
     Just under half of the households were connected to a public
sewer, one of the briefs said.  The comparable figure for all
U.S. households was 76 percent.  This is due in part to the rural
nature of most reservations.
     About one in five American Indian reservation households
disposed of sewage by means other than public sewer, septic tank 
or cesspool (e.g., outhouses, chemical toilets, and facilities in
another structure).  Nationally, 1 percent of all households used
these methods of sewage disposal.
     About one in five American Indian households on reservations
lacked complete plumbing facilities in their homes--hot and cold
piped water, a flush toilet, and a bathtub or shower.  This
compared with fewer than 1 percent of all households nationally. 
About six out of every 10 American Indian homeowners on the
Navajo Reservation did not have complete plumbing.
     About 18 percent of American Indian households on
reservations in 1990 did not have complete kitchens, i.e., a sink
with piped water, a range or cookstove, and a refrigerator.  In
1950, about 20 percent of all U.S. households lacked complete  
kitchens.  By 1990, only 1 percent of households nationally was
without one or more of these amenities.  
     The majority of American Indian homes on reservations 
(53 percent) did not have a telephone.  This was true for only 
5 percent of all households nationally.
     When it comes to motor vehicles, 22 percent of American
Indian households on reservations did not have one in 1990, the 
briefs said.  Nationally, 12 percent of all U.S. households were
without a vehicle.
     Although rarely used nationally, wood was used to heat 
one out of every three American Indian homes on reservations in
1990.  Bottled, tank, or LP gas and electricity, at 22 percent
and 19 percent, respectively, were the next most commonly used
fuels.  In 1940, 23 percent of U.S. households used wood as fuel,
but since 1950 wood has been a fuel used very little at the
national level.
     The analyses also found that American Indian households on
reservations were only about half as likely as all households 
nationally to live in an "old" home, i.e., one built before 1940.
They were likelier to live in mobile homes (14 percent vs.
7 percent nationally), and only 5 percent (compared with 
27 percent for all households nationally) lived in multiunit
structures.
                               -X-
Editor's note:  EMBARGOED UNTIL:  APRIL 10, 1995 (MONDAY)  media
representatives may request copies of the three briefs from the
bureau's Public Information Office by telephone: 301-457-2794;
fax: 301-457-3670; or e-mail: pio@census.gov.  Non-media orders
should be directed to the bureau's Customer Services Office on