Census 2000 showed

that the United States

population was 281.4

million on April 1,

2000. Of the total, 4.1

million, or 1.5 percent,

reported1 American

Indian and Alaska

Native. This number

included 2.5 million

people, or 0.9 percent,

who reported only

American Indian and

Alaska Native in addition to 1.6 million people, or 0.6 percent,

who reported American

Indian and Alaska

Native as well as one

or more other races.

The term American

Indian is often used in the text of this

report to refer to the American Indian and

Alaska Native population, while American

Indian and Alaska Native is used in the

text tables and graphs. Census 2000

asked separate questions on race and

Hispanic or Latino origin. Hispanics who

reported their race as American Indian

and Alaska Native, either alone or in combination with one or more races, are

included in the number of American

Indians.

This report, part of a series that analyzes

population and housing data collected

from Census 2000, provides a portrait of

the American Indian population in the

United States and discusses its distribution

at both the national and subnational levels.

It begins by discussing the characteristics

of the total American Indian population and

then focuses on selected tribal groupings,2

for example, Navajo, Cherokee, or Eskimo.

The report is based on data from the

Census 2000 Summary File 1.3 The text of

this report discusses data for the United

States, including the 50 states and the

District of Columbia.4

U S C E N S U S B U R E A U

Helping You Make Informed Decisions

U.S.Department of Commerce

Economics and Statistics Administration

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

Issued February 2002

C2KBR/01-15

The American Indian and Alaska

Native Population: 2000

Census 2000 Brief

By 

Figure 1. Stella U. Ogunwole

Reproduction of the Question on Race 

From Census 2000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 questionnaire.

What is this person's race? Mark one or more races to

indicate what this person considers himself/herself to be.

6.

White

Black, African Am., or Negro

American Indian or Alaska Native — Print name of enrolled or principal tribe.

Some other race — Print race.

Japanese

Korean

Vietnamese

Native Hawaiian

Guamanian or Chamorro

Samoan

Other Pacific Islander — Print race.

Asian Indian

Chinese

Filipino

Other Asian — Print race.

✗

1 In this report, the term “reported” is used to refer

to the answers provided by respondents, as well as

responses assigned during the editing and imputation

processes.

2 Tribal grouping refers to the combining of individual American Indian tribes, such as Alamo Navajo,

Tohajiileehee Navajo, and Ramah Navajo into the general

Navajo tribe, or the combining of individual Alaska

Native tribes such as American Eskimo, Eskimo and

Greenland Eskimo into the general Eskimo tribe. 3 Data from the Census 2000 Summary File 1 were

released on a state-by-state basis during the summer of

2001. 4 Data for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico are

shown in Table 2 and Figure 3. 
2 U.S. Census Bureau

The term “American Indian and

Alaska Native” refers to people having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America

(including Central America), and who

maintain tribal affiliation or community attachment. It includes people

who reported “American Indian and

Alaska Native” or wrote in their principal or enrolled tribe.

Data on race have been collected

since the first U.S. decennial census in

1790. American Indians were first

enumerated as a separate group in

the 1860 census. The 1890 census

was the first to count American

Indians throughout the country. Prior

to 1890, enumeration of American

Indians was limited to those living in

the general population of the various

states; American Indians in American

Indian Territory and on American

Indian reservations were not included.

Alaska Natives, in Alaska, have been

counted since 1880, but until 1940,

they were generally reported in the

“American Indian” racial category.

They were enumerated separately

(as Eskimo and Aleut) in 1940 in

Alaska. In the 1970 census, separate response categories were used

to collect data on the Eskimo and

Aleut population only in Alaska. 

The 1980 census was the first in

which data were collected separately

for Eskimos and Aleuts in all states.

The 1990 census used three separate response categories to collect

data on the American Indian and

Alaska Native population. 

Census 2000 used a combined

“American Indian or Alaska Native”

response category to collect data on

both the American Indian and Alaska

Native population. Also, respondents

were asked to provide the name of

their enrolled or principal tribes.

Previous decennial censuses collected data on both American Indian and

Alaska Native tribes. However,

Census 2000 provides more extensive data for tribes than ever before. 

The question on race was

changed for Census 2000. 

All U.S. censuses have obtained

information on race for every individual and for the past several censuses, the responses reflect selfidentification. For Census 2000,

however, respondents were asked to

report one or more races they considered themselves and other members of their households to be.5

Because of these changes, the

Census 2000 data on race are not

directly comparable with data from

the 1990 census or earlier censuses. Caution must be used when

interpreting changes in the racial

composition of the United States

population over time.

The Census 2000 question on race

included 15 separate response categories and 3 areas where respondents could write in a more specific

race (see Figure 1). For some purposes, including this report, the

response categories and write-in

answers were combined to create

the five standard Office of

Management and Budget race categories, plus the Census Bureau category of “Some other race.” The six

race categories include:

• White;

• Black or African American;

• American Indian and Alaska

Native;

• Asian;

• Native Hawaiian and Other

Pacific Islander; and 

• Some other race

For a complete explanation of the

race categories used in Census

2000, see the Census 2000 Brief,

Overview of Race and Hispanic

Origin.6

The data collected by Census

2000 on race can be divided

into two broad categories: the

race alone population and the

race in combination population.

People who responded to the question on race by indicating only one

race are referred to as the race

alone population. For example,

respondents who reported their

race only as American Indian or

Alaska Native on the census questionnaire would be included in the

American Indian alone population.

Individuals who reported more than

one of the six races are referred to

as the race in combination population. For example, respondents who

reported they were “American

Indian and White” or “American

Indian and Black or African

American and Asian”7 would be

included in the American Indian in

combination population.

5 Other changes included terminology

and formatting changes, such as spelling out

“American” instead of “Amer.” for the

American Indian or Alaska Native category

and adding “Native” to the Hawaiian

response category. In the layout of the

Census 2000 questionnaire, the seven Asian

response categories were alphabetized and

grouped together, as were the four Pacific

Islander categories after the Native Hawaiian

category. The three separate American

Indian and Alaska Native identifiers in the

1990 census (i.e., Indian (Amer.), Eskimo,

and Aleut) were combined into a single identifier in Census 2000. Also, American

Indians and Alaska Natives could report

more than one tribe.

6 Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin:

2000, U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000

Brief, C2KBR/01-1, March 2001, is available

on the U.S. Census Bureau’s Internet site at

www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/

briefs.html. 7 The race in combination categories are

denoted by quotations around the combinations with the conjunction and in bold and

italicized print to indicate the separate races

that comprise the combination.
The maximum number of

people reporting American

Indian is reflected in the

American Indian alone or in

combination population.

One way to define the American

Indian population is to combine

those respondents who reported

only American Indian with those

who reported American Indian as

well as one or more other races.

This creates the American Indian

alone or in combination population. Another way to think of the

American Indian alone or in combination population is the total number of people who identified entirely or partially as American Indian.

This group is also described as

people who reported American

Indian, whether or not they reported any other races.

Census 2000 provides a

snapshot of the American

Indian population.

Table 1 shows the number and percentage of Census 2000 respondents who reported American 

Indian alone as well as those who

reported American Indian and at

least one other race.

Of the total United States population, 2.5 million people, or 0.9 percent, reported only American

Indian. An additional 1.6 million

people reported American Indian

and at least one other race. Within

this group, the most common combinations were “American Indian

and Alaska Native and White” 

(66 percent), followed by

“American Indian and Alaska Native

and Black or African American” 

(11 percent), “American Indian and

Alaska Native and White and Black

or African American” (6.8 percent),

and “American Indian and Alaska

Native and Some other race” 

(5.7 percent). These four combination categories accounted for 

90 percent of all American Indians

who reported two or more races.

Thus 4.1 million people, or 

1.5 percent, of the total population, reported American Indian

alone or in combination with one

or more races.

The American Indian

population increased faster

than the total population

between 1990 and 2000.

Because of the changes made to the

question on race for Census 2000,

there are at least two ways to present the change in the total number

of American Indians in the United

States. They include: 1) the difference in the American Indian population between 1990 and 2000 using

the race alone concept for 2000

and 2) the difference in the

American Indian population

between 1990 and 2000 using the

race alone or in combination concept for 2000. These comparisons

provide a “minimum-maximum”

range for the change in the

American Indian population

between 1990 and 2000.

The 1990 census showed there

were nearly 2 million American

Indians. Using the American Indian

alone population in 2000, this population increased by 516,722, or 26

percent, between 1990 and 2000.

If the American Indian alone or in

combination population is used, an

increase of 2.2 million, or 110 percent, results. Thus, from 1990 to

2000, the range for the increase in

the American Indian population was

26 percent to 110 percent. In comparison, the total population grew

by 13 percent from 248.7 million in

1990 to 281.4 million in 2000.

THE GEOGRAPHIC

DISTRIBUTION OF THE

AMERICAN INDIAN

POPULATION

The following discussion of the geographic distribution of the American

Indian population focuses on the

American Indian alone or in combination population in the text. As the

upper bound of the American Indian

population, this group includes all

respondents who reported

American Indian, whether or not

U.S. Census Bureau 3

Table 1.

American Indian and Alaska Native Population:2000

(For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, see

www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf1.pdf)

Race

Number

Percent of

total

population

Total population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281,412,906 100.0

American Indian and Alaska Native alone or in combination with

one or more other races . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,119,301 1.5

American Indian and Alaska Native alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,475,956 0.9

American Indian and Alaska Native in combination with one or

more other races. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,643,345 0.6

American Indian and Alaska Native; White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,082,683 0.4

American Indian and Alaska Native; Black or African

American . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182,494 0.1

American Indian and Alaska Native; White; Black or African

American . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112,207 -

American Indian and Alaska Native; Some other race . . . . . . . 93,842 -

All other combinations including American Indian and Alaska

Native . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172,119 0.1

Not American Indian and Alaska Native alone or in combination

with one or more other races . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277,293,605 98.5

- Percentage rounds to 0.0.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 1.
they reported any other race.8

Hereafter in the text of this section,

the term “American Indian” will be

used to refer to those who reported

American Indian, whether they

reported one race or more than one

race. However, in the tables and

graphs, data for both the American

Indian alone and American Indian

alone or in combination populations

are shown.

Four out of ten American

Indians lived in the West.9

According to Census 2000, of all

respondents who reported

American Indian, 43 percent lived in

the West, 31 percent lived in the

South, 17 percent lived in the

Midwest, and 9 percent lived in the

Northeast (see Figure 2). 

The West had the largest American

Indian population, as well as the

highest proportion of American

Indians in its total population: 

2.8 percent of all respondents in

the West and 1.3 percent in the

South reported American Indian and

Alaska Native, compared with 

1.1 percent in the Midwest, and 

0.7 percent in the Northeast. 

Over half of all people who

reported American Indian

lived in just ten states.

The ten states with the largest

American Indian populations in

2000, in order, were California,

Oklahoma, Arizona, Texas, New

Mexico, New York, Washington,

North Carolina, Michigan, and

Alaska (see Table 2). Florida was the

only other state with greater than

100,000 American Indian population. Combined, these 11 states

included 62 percent of the total

American Indian population, but

only 44 percent of the total population. California (627,562) and

Oklahoma (391,949) combined

included about 25 percent of the

total American Indian population.

There were 19 states where the

American Indian population exceeded the U.S. proportion of 1.5 percent, led by the western state of

Alaska (19 percent), followed by the

southern state of Oklahoma 

(11 percent), and the western state

of New Mexico (10 percent). The

other 16 states included the western states of Arizona, California,

Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada,

Hawaii, Oregon, Utah, Washington,

and Wyoming; the midwestern

states of Kansas, Minnesota, North

Dakota, and South Dakota; and the

southern state of North Carolina.

No northeastern state had more

than 1.5 percent of its population

reporting as American Indian. Five

states, Alaska, Oklahoma, New

Mexico, Arizona, and Washington

were represented in the top ten

states in both number and percent

reporting as American Indian. 

American Indians were less than 

1 percent of the total population in

21 states including Pennsylvania,

New Jersey, West Virginia, Illinois,

Massachusetts, Kentucky, Iowa,

New Hampshire, Indiana, Georgia,

Ohio, South Carolina, Mississippi,

Tennessee, Connecticut, Florida,

Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, New

York, and the District of Columbia,

a state equivalent. While Texas had

the fourth largest American Indian

population of all states, it ranked

26th in percent of American Indian

among the 50 states and the

District of Columbia, with only 

1 percent of respondents reporting

American Indian. Wyoming had the

44th largest American Indian population, but ranked 8th in percent of

the American Indian population

among the 50 states and the

District of Columbia.

The American Indian

population was concentrated

in counties in the West and

Midwest. 

American Indians were the majority

of the population in 14 counties in

the West and 12 counties in the

Midwest (see Figure 3). In the West,

the counties were in four states:

Alaska, Arizona, Montana, and Utah.

In the Midwest, the counties were

also in four states: South Dakota,

Wisconsin, North Dakota, and

Nebraska.

Of the 3,141 counties or county

equivalents in the United States,

786 counties met or exceeded the

U.S. level of 1.5 percent of the total

American Indian population, while

the proportion reporting American

Indian was below the national average in 2,355 counties. 

The counties with their proportion

reporting American Indian above the

national average were located mostly

west of the Mississippi River. Within

this area, several clusters of counties

with high percentages of American

Indians were distinctly noticeable.

Alaska Natives accounted for over

50 percent of the population in nearly all of the boroughs and census

areas (county equivalents) in northern and western Alaska. In the

Southwest, American Indians were

represented in high percentages (and

4 U.S. Census Bureau

8 The use of the alone or in combination

population in this section does not imply

that it is the preferred method of presenting

or analyzing data. In general, either the

alone population or the alone or in combination population can be used, depending on

the purpose of the analysis. The Census

Bureau uses both approaches. 9 The West region includes the states of

Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii,

Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico,

Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

The South region includes the states of

Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida,

Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland,

Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South

Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West

Virginia, and the District of Columbia, a state

equivalent. The Midwest region includes the

states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,

Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska,

North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and

Wisconsin. The Northeast region includes the

states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts,

New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York,

Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
Table 2.

American Indian and Alaska Native Population for the United States, Regions, and States,

and for Puerto Rico:1990 and 2000

(For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf1.pdf)

Area

1990 2000

Total population

American Indian and Alaska

Native population

Total population

American Indian and

Alaska Native alone population

American Indian and

Alaska Native alone or

in combination

population

American Indian and

Alaska Native in combination population

Number

Percent of

total population Number

Percent of

total population Number Percent of total population Number

Percent of

American

Indian and

Alaska Native alone or in

combination

population

United States . . . . . . . . . . 248,709,873 1,959,234 0.8 281,421,906 2,475,956 0.9 4,119,301 1.5 1,643,345 39.9

Region

Northeast. . . . . . . . . . . . 50,809,229 125,148 0.2 53,594,378 162,558 0.3 374,035 0.7 211,477 56.5

Midwest. . . . . . . . . . . . . 59,668,632 337,899 0.6 64,392,776 399,490 0.6 714,792 1.1 315,302 44.1

South . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85,445,930 562,731 0.7 100,236,820 725,919 0.7 1,259,230 1.3 533,311 42.4

West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52,786,082 933,456 1.8 63,197,932 1,187,989 1.9 1,771,244 2.8 583,255 32.9

State

Alabama . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,040,587 16,506 0.4 4,447,100 22,430 0.5 44,449 1.0 22,019 49.5

Alaska. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550,043 85,698 15.6 626,932 98,043 15.6 119,241 19.0 21,198 17.8

Arizona . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,665,228 203,527 5.6 5,130,632 255,879 5.0 292,552 5.7 36,673 12.5

Arkansas . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,350,725 12,773 0.5 2,673,400 17,808 0.7 37,002 1.4 19,194 51.9

California . . . . . . . . . . . . 29,760,021 242,164 0.8 33,871,648 333,346 1.0 627,562 1.9 294,216 46.9

Colorado . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,294,394 27,776 0.8 4,301,261 44,241 1.0 79,689 1.9 35,448 44.5

Connecticut . . . . . . . . . . 3,287,116 6,654 0.2 3,405,565 9,639 0.3 24,488 0.7 14,849 60.6

Delaware . . . . . . . . . . . . 666,168 2,019 0.3 783,600 2,731 0.3 6,069 0.8 3,338 55.0

District of Columbia . . . . . 606,900 1,466 0.2 572,059 1,713 0.3 4,775 0.8 3,062 64.1

Florida. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,937,926 36,335 0.3 15,982,378 53,541 0.3 117,880 0.7 64,339 54.6

Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,478,216 13,348 0.2 8,186,453 21,737 0.3 53,197 0.6 31,460 59.1

Hawaii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,108,229 5,099 0.5 1,211,537 3,535 0.3 24,882 2.1 21,347 85.8

Idaho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,006,749 13,780 1.4 1,293,953 17,645 1.4 27,237 2.1 9,592 35.2

Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,430,602 21,836 0.2 12,419,293 31,006 0.2 73,161 0.6 42,155 57.6

Indiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,544,159 12,720 0.2 6,080,485 15,815 0.3 39,263 0.6 23,448 59.7

Iowa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,776,755 7,349 0.3 2,926,324 8,989 0.3 18,246 0.6 9,257 50.7

Kansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,477,574 21,965 0.9 2,688,418 24,936 0.9 47,363 1.8 22,427 47.4

Kentucky . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,685,296 5,769 0.2 4,041,769 8,616 0.2 24,552 0.6 15,936 64.9

Louisiana. . . . . . . . . . . . 4,219,973 18,541 0.4 4,468,976 25,477 0.6 42,878 1.0 17,401 40.6

Maine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,227,928 5,998 0.5 1,274,923 7,098 0.6 13,156 1.0 6,058 46.0

Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,781,468 12,972 0.3 5,296,486 15,423 0.3 39,437 0.7 24,014 60.9

Massachusetts . . . . . . . . 6,016,425 12,241 0.2 6,349,097 15,015 0.2 38,050 0.6 23,035 60.5

Michigan . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,295,297 55,638 0.6 9,938,444 58,479 0.6 124,412 1.3 65,933 53.0

Minnesota . . . . . . . . . . . 4,375,099 49,909 1.1 4,919,479 54,967 1.1 81,074 1.6 26,107 32.2

Mississippi . . . . . . . . . . . 2,573,216 8,525 0.3 2,844,658 11,652 0.4 19,555 0.7 7,903 40.4

Missouri. . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,117,073 19,835 0.4 5,595,211 25,076 0.4 60,099 1.1 35,023 58.3

Montana . . . . . . . . . . . . 799,065 47,679 6.0 902,195 56,068 6.2 66,320 7.4 10,252 15.5

Nebraska. . . . . . . . . . . . 1,578,385 12,410 0.8 1,711,263 14,896 0.9 22,204 1.3 7,308 32.9

Nevada . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,201,833 19,637 1.6 1,998,257 26,420 1.3 42,222 2.1 15,802 37.4

New Hampshire . . . . . . . 1,109,252 2,134 0.2 1,235,786 2,964 0.2 7,885 0.6 4,921 62.4

New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . 7,730,188 14,970 0.2 8,414,350 19,492 0.2 49,104 0.6 29,612 60.3

New Mexico . . . . . . . . . . 1,515,069 134,355 8.9 1,819,046 173,483 9.5 191,475 10.5 17,992 9.4

New York. . . . . . . . . . . . 17,990,455 62,651 0.3 18,976,457 82,461 0.4 171,581 0.9 89,120 51.9

North Carolina . . . . . . . . 6,628,637 80,155 1.2 8,049,313 99,551 1.2 131,736 1.6 32,185 24.4

North Dakota . . . . . . . . . 638,800 25,917 4.1 642,200 31,329 4.9 35,228 5.5 3,899 11.1

Ohio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,847,115 20,358 0.2 11,353,140 24,486 0.2 76,075 0.7 51,589 67.8

Oklahoma . . . . . . . . . . . 3,145,585 252,420 8.0 3,450,654 273,230 7.9 391,949 11.4 118,719 30.3

Oregon . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,842,321 38,496 1.4 3,421,399 45,211 1.3 85,667 2.5 40,456 47.2

Pennsylvania . . . . . . . . . 11,881,643 14,733 0.1 12,281,054 18,348 0.1 52,650 0.4 34,302 65.2

Rhode Island . . . . . . . . . 1,003,464 4,071 0.4 1,048,319 5,121 0.5 10,725 1.0 5,604 52.3

South Carolina . . . . . . . . 3,486,703 8,246 0.2 4,012,012 13,718 0.3 27,456 0.7 13,738 50.0

South Dakota . . . . . . . . . 696,004 50,575 7.3 754,844 62,283 8.3 68,281 9.0 5,998 8.8

Tennessee . . . . . . . . . . . 4,877,185 10,039 0.2 5,689,283 15,152 0.3 39,188 0.7 24,036 61.3

Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,986,510 65,877 0.4 20,851,820 118,362 0.6 215,599 1.0 97,237 45.1

Utah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,722,850 24,283 1.4 2,233,169 29,684 1.3 40,445 1.8 10,761 26.6

Vermont . . . . . . . . . . . . 562,758 1,696 0.3 608,827 2,420 0.4 6,396 1.1 3,976 62.2

Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,187,358 15,282 0.2 7,078,515 21,172 0.3 52,864 0.7 31,692 60.0

Washington . . . . . . . . . . 4,866,692 81,483 1.7 5,894,121 93,301 1.6 158,940 2.7 65,639 41.3

West Virginia . . . . . . . . . 1,793,477 2,458 0.1 1,808,344 3,606 0.2 10,644 0.6 7,038 66.1

Wisconsin . . . . . . . . . . . 4,891,769 39,387 0.8 5,363,675 47,228 0.9 69,386 1.3 22,158 31.9

Wyoming . . . . . . . . . . . . 453,588 9,479 2.1 493,782 11,133 2.3 15,012 3.0 3,879 25.8

Puerto Rico . . . . . . . . . . . 3,522,037 (X) (X) 3,808,610 13,336 0.4 26,871 0.7 13,535 50.4

X Not applicable.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 1; 1990 Census of Population, General Population Characteristics (1990 CP-1).

U.S. Census Bureau 5
6 U.S. Census Bureau

also in large numbers) in the counties in the Four Corners area of

Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and

Colorado (where the boundaries of

these four states meet). In the Great

Plains, American Indians were concentrated in a cluster of counties in

central and western South Dakota,

southeastern Montana, and in several counties along the U.S.-Canadian

border in Montana and North

Dakota. In the southern Plains,

American Indians accounted for relatively high percentages of the population in a cluster of counties in eastern Oklahoma. American Indians

accounted for more than the U.S.

level of 1.5 percent in all but one

county (Harper County) in

Oklahoma.

East of the Mississippi, counties in

which American Indians were represented in percentages higher than

the U.S. level of 1.5 percent were

scattered throughout the South,

Northeast, and upper Midwest. Two

clusters of counties in North

Carolina — one in the extreme

southwest of the state and the

other in the southeast — were evident; each cluster was anchored by

a county in which American Indians

accounted for over 25 percent of

the population. Elsewhere in the

South, groups of counties in which

American Indians were represented

at greater than the U.S. proportion

were found in central Louisiana,

portions of the Gulf Coast, northern

Alabama, and in eastern Virginia.

In the Northeast, counties meeting

or exceeding the national proportion

of American Indians tended to be

nonmetropolitan and along the U.S.

and Canadian border of New York,

Vermont, and Maine, although concentrations were found in the New

York city area, metropolitan Rhode

Island and Connecticut, and in western New York. In the Midwest, counties with high percentages of

American Indians were located

primarily across northern Minnesota,

Wisconsin, and Michigan. In general,

counties throughout most of the

lower Midwest, upper South, and

Northeast were distinguished by

very low percentages of American

Indians.

The places with the largest

American Indian populations

were New York and Los

Angeles.

Census 2000 showed that, of all

places in the United States with

100,000 or more population,10 New

York and Los Angeles had the largest

American Indian populations with

87,241 and 53,092, respectively (see

Table 3). The next eight places with

the largest American Indian populations had between 15,743 and

35,093 American Indians. Five of the

top ten places — Los Angeles,

Phoenix, San Diego, Anchorage, and

Albuquerque — were in the West.

The ten largest places for American

Indians together accounted for 

8.2 percent of the total U.S.

American Indian population. New

York and Los Angeles accounted for

3.4 percent of the total American

Indian population (see Table 3). Of

the ten largest places in the United

States, Phoenix (2.7 percent) had

the largest proportion of American

Indians, followed by Los Angeles

(1.4 percent), and San Diego and

San Antonio, each with 1.3 percent.

Among places of 100,000 or more

population, the highest proportion of

American Indians was in Anchorage

(10 percent) as shown in Figure 4.

Tulsa was the second highest. Six of

the top ten places with the highest

proportion of American Indians were

in the West, with two each in the

Midwest and South. 

ADDITIONAL FINDINGS ON

THE AMERICAN INDIAN

AND ALASKA NATIVE

POPULATION

What proportion of American

Indians and Alaska Natives

reported a tribe?

In Census 2000, people who identified themselves as American Indian

Figure 2.

Percent Distribution of the American Indian and 

Alaska Native Population by Region: 2000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 1.

(For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, 

see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf1.pdf)

American Indian

and Alaska Native

alone or in

combination

American Indian

and Alaska

Native alone

Northeast West Midwest South

9.1 17.4 30.6 43.0

6.6 16.1 29.3 48.0

10 Census 2000 showed 245 places in the

United States with 100,000 or more population. They included 238 incorporated places

(including 4 city-county consolidations) and

7 census designated places that are not

legally incorporated. For a list of these

places by state, see www.census.gov/

population/www/cen2000/phc-t6.html.
U.S. p

Percent American Indian andAlaska Native Alone orIn Combination: 2000

U.S. p

Figure 3.(For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, anddefinitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf1.pdf)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 1. American FactFinder at factfinder.census.gov

provides census data and mapping tools. 0 100 Miles 0 100 Miles 

0 100 Miles

U.S. Census Bureau7
or Alaska Native on the questionnaire were asked to report their

enrolled or principal tribe.

Additionally, respondents could

report one or more tribes (see Table

4). Among respondents who reported as American Indian, 79 percent,

or 2.0 million people, specified a

tribe. For those who reported

American Indian in any combination,

67 percent, or 1.1 million people,

reported a tribe. For all people

reporting American Indian either

alone or in any combination, 74 percent, or 3.1 million people, identified

a tribe.

Which American Indian tribal

groupings were the largest? 

According to Census 2000, the

American Indian tribal groupings

with 100,000 or more people or

responses were Cherokee, Navajo,

Latin American Indian,11 Choctaw,

Sioux, and Chippewa (see Figure 5

and Table 5).12 These six tribal

groups accounted for 40 percent of

all respondents who reported a single grouping or race. Of all

American Indian tribal groupings in

any combination, these six tribal

groups accounted for 42 percent of

all responses. There were 281,069

respondents who reported

Cherokee alone and an additional

448,464 who reported Cherokee

with at least one other race or

American Indian tribal grouping. A

total of 729,533 people reported

Cherokee alone or in combination

with one or more other race or

American Indian tribal groupings. 

Navajo and Latin American were the

next two largest specified American

Indian tribal groupings. There were

269,202 people who reported

Navajo alone and an additional

28,995 people who reported Navajo

in combination with one or more

other races or American tribal

groupings. This gives a total of

298,197 people who reported

Navajo alone or in combination with

at least one other race or American

Indian tribal groupings. There were

104,354 people who reported only

Latin American Indian and an additional 76,586 who reported Latin

American in combination with one

or more other races or American

Indian tribal groupings. A total of

180,940 people reported Latin

American Indian alone or in combination with at least one other race

or American Indian tribal groupings. 

Which Alaska Native tribal

groupings were the largest?

In 2000, Eskimo was the largest

Alaska Native tribal grouping alone

or in any combination, followed by

Tlingit-Haida, Alaska Athabascan,

and Aleut. These four tribal groupings combined accounted for

3.6 percent of all American Indian

8 U.S. Census Bureau

Table 3.

Ten Largest Places in Total Population and in American Indian and Alaska Native

Population:2000

(For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf1.pdf)

Place

Total population American Indian and

Alaska Native alone

American Indian and

Alaska Native alone

or in combination

Percent of total population

Rank Number Rank Number Rank Number

American

Indian and

Alaska

Native alone

American

Indian and

Alaska Native

alone or in

combination

New York, NY. . . . . . . . 1 8,008,278 1 41,289 1 87,241 0.5 1.1

Los Angeles, CA . . . . . 2 3,694,820 2 29,412 2 53,092 0.8 1.4

Chicago, IL . . . . . . . . . . 3 2,896,016 9 10,290 8 20,898 0.4 0.7

Houston, TX . . . . . . . . . 4 1,953,631 11 8,568 10 15,743 0.4 0.8

Philadelphia, PA. . . . . . 5 1,517,550 24 4,073 21 10,835 0.3 0.7

Phoenix, AZ . . . . . . . . . 6 1,321,045 3 26,696 3 35,093 2.0 2.7

San Diego, CA. . . . . . . 7 1,223,400 13 7,543 9 16,178 0.6 1.3

Dallas, TX . . . . . . . . . . . 8 1,188,580 18 6,472 18 11,334 0.5 1.0

San Antonio, TX. . . . . . 9 1,144,646 10 9,584 12 15,224 0.8 1.3

Detroit, MI . . . . . . . . . . . 10 951,270 40 3,140 25 8,907 0.3 0.9

Oklahoma, OK . . . . . . . 29 506,132 6 17,743 5 29,001 3.5 5.7

Tucson, AZ . . . . . . . . . . 30 486,699 8 11,038 11 15,358 2.3 3.2

Albuquerque, NM. . . . . 35 448,607 7 17,444 7 22,047 3.9 4.9

Tulsa, OK . . . . . . . . . . . 43 393,049 5 18,551 4 30,227 4.7 7.7

Anchorage, AK. . . . . . . 65 260,283 4 18,941 6 26,995 7.3 10.4

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 1.

11 In 1997, the Office of Management and

Budget definition of American Indian or Alaska

Native included the original peoples of North

and South America (including Central America).

12 Table 5 contains all American Indian and

Alaska Native tribal groupings that contained at

least 7,000 people according to the 1990 census. Additional information on individual tribes

is forthcoming.
and Alaska Native tribal responses

alone and 2.7 percent alone or in

any combination (see Figure 6 and

Table 5). 

There were 45,919 respondents

who reported Eskimo alone and an

additional 8,842 who reported

Eskimo with at least one other race

or American Indian or Alaska Native

tribal grouping. A total of 54,761

people reported Eskimo alone or in

combination with one or more other

races or American Indian or Alaska

Native tribal groupings. 

Tlingit-Haida, Alaska Athabascan,

and Aleut were the next three

largest specified Alaska Native tribal

groupings. There were 14,825 people who reported Tlingit-Haida

alone and an additional 7,540 who

reported Tlingit-Haida with at least

one other race or American Indian

or Alaska Native tribal groupings. A

total of 22,365 people reported

Tlingit-Haida alone or in combination with one or more other races

or American Indian or Alaska Native

tribal groupings.

There were 14,520 people who

reported only Alaska Athabascan

and an additional 4,318 people who

reported Alaska Athabascan with

one or more other races or

American Indian or Alaska Native

tribal groupings. A total of 18,838

people reported Alaska Athabascan

alone or in combination with at

least one or more other races or

American Indian or Alaska Native

tribal groupings.

Also, there were 11,941 people who

reported only Aleut and an additional 5,037 people who reported Aleut

with one or more other races or

American Indian or Alaska Native

tribal groupings. A total of 16,978

people reported Aleut alone or in

combination with at least one or

more other races or American Indian

or Alaska Native tribal groupings.

What proportion of American

Indians and Alaska Natives

reported more than one tribal

grouping? 

The proportion of respondents

reporting a tribe with at least one

other race or American Indian tribal

grouping varied among the ten

largest American Indian tribal

groupings (see Table 5). Of all the

respondents who reported more

than one race or American Indian

tribal grouping, the Blackfeet tribal

grouping had the highest proportion, with 68 percent. The next two

tribal groupings with the highest

proportion of respondents reporting

at least one other race or American

Indian tribal grouping were

Cherokee (62 percent) and Choctaw

(45 percent). Of the ten largest

American Indian tribal groupings,

the Navajo had the lowest proportion (9.7 percent) reporting more

than one race or American Indian

tribal grouping, followed by Pueblo

(19.6 percent). 

Among the largest Alaska Native

tribal groupings, the highest proportion of all respondents who

reported more than one race or

American Indian or Alaska Native

tribal groupings was the TlingitHaida with 34 percent. The other

tribal groupings with respondents

reporting at least one other race or

American Indian or Alaska Native

tribal grouping were Aleut (30 percent) and Alaska Athabascan 

(23 percent). The Eskimo had the

lowest proportion of respondents

(16 percent) reporting more than

one race or American Indian tribal

grouping.

U.S. Census Bureau 9

Figure 4.

Ten Places of 100,000 or More Population With the 

Highest Percentage of American Indians and 

Alaska Natives: 2000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 1.

(For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions 

see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf1.pdf)

American Indian and Alaska Native alone or in combination

American Indian and Alaska Native alone

Sacramento, CA

Spokane, WA

Tucson, AZ

Minneapolis, MN

Tacoma, WA

Green Bay, WI

Albuquerque, NM

Oklahoma City, OK

Tulsa, OK

Anchorage, AK

2.8

7.3

10.4

4.7

7.7

3.5

5.7

3.9

4.9

3.3

4.1

2.0

3.6

2.2

3.3

2.3

3.2

1.8

3.0

1.3
ABOUT CENSUS 2000

Why did Census 2000 ask the

question on race?

The Census Bureau collects data on

race to fulfill a variety of legislative

and program requirements. Data on

race are used in the legislative redistricting process carried out by the

states and in monitoring local jurisdictions’ compliance with the Voting

Rights Act. These data are also

essential for evaluating federal programs that promote equal access to

employment, education, and housing and for assessing racial disparities in health and exposure to environmental risks. More broadly, data

on race are critical for research that

underlies many policy decisions at

all levels of government.

How do data from the

question on race benefit me,

my family, and my

community?

All levels of government need information on race to implement and

evaluate programs or enforce laws.

Examples include: the Native

American Programs Act, the Equal

Employment Opportunity Act, the

Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights

Act, the Public Health Act, the

Healthcare Improvement Act, the

Job Partnership Training Act, the

Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the

Fair Housing Act, and the Census

Redistricting Data Program.

Both public and private organizations use race information to find

areas where groups may need special services and to plan and implement education, housing, health,

and other programs that address

these needs. For example, a school

system might use this information to

design cultural activities that reflect

the diversity in their community. Or

a business could use it to select the

mix of merchandise it will sell in a

new store. Census information also

helps identify areas where residents

might need services of particular

importance to certain racial or ethnic

groups, such as screening for hypertension or diabetes.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For more information on race in

the United States, visit the U.S.

Census Bureau’s Internet site at

www.census.gov/population/www/

socdemo/race.html.

10 U.S. Census Bureau

Table 4.

Specified Tribe Reported by American Indians and Alaska

Natives:2000

(For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, see

www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf1.pdf)

American Indian and Alaska Native

Whether or not

tribe specified

Total Alone In combination

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,119,301 100.0 2,475,956 100.0 1,643,345 100.0

Tribe specified . . . . 3,062,844 74.4 1,963,996 79.3 1,098,848 66.9

Tribe not specified. 1,056,457 25.6 511,960 20.7 544,497 33.1

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 1.

Figure 5.

Ten Largest American Indian Tribal Groupings: 2000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 1.

(For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, 

see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf1.pdf)

American Indian tribal grouping alone or in any combination 

American Indian tribal grouping alone

Pueblo

Iroquois

Blackfeet

Apache

Chippewa

Sioux

Choctaw

Latin American

Indian

Navajo

Cherokee

74,085

281,069

729,533

269,202

298,197 

180,940

104,354

87,349

158,774

108,272

153,360

105,907

149,669

57,060

96,833

27,104

85,750

45,212

80,822

59,533
Table 5.

American Indian and Alaska Native Population by Selected Tribal Grouping:2000

(For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf1.pdf)

Tribal grouping

American and Alaska

Native alone

American Indian and Alaska

Native in combination

with one or more races

American Indian

and Alaska Native

tribal grouping

alone or in any

combination1

One tribal

grouping

reported

More than one

tribal grouping

reported1

One tribal

grouping

reported

More than one

tribal grouping

reported1

Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,423,531 52,425 1,585,396 57,949 4,119,301

Apache . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57,060 7,917 24,947 6,909 96,833

Blackfeet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27,104 4,358 41,389 12,899 85,750

Cherokee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281,069 18,793 390,902 38,769 729,533

Cheyenne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,191 1,365 4,655 993 18,204

Chickasaw. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,887 3,014 12,025 2,425 38,351

Chippewa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105,907 2,730 38,635 2,397 149,669

Choctaw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87,349 9,552 50,123 11,750 158,774

Colville. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,833 193 1,308 59 9,393

Comanche. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,120 1,568 6,120 1,568 19,376

Cree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,488 724 3,577 945 7,734

Creek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40,223 5,495 21,652 3,940 71,310

Crow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,117 574 2,812 891 13,394

Delaware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,304 602 6,866 569 16,341

Houma. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,798 79 1,794 42 8,713

Iroquois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45,212 2,318 29,763 3,529 80,822

Kiowa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,559 1,130 2,119 434 12,242

Latin American Indian. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104,354 1,850 73,042 1,694 180,940

Lumbee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51,913 642 4,934 379 57,868

Menominee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,883 258 1,551 148 9,840

Navajo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269,202 6,789 19,491 2,715 298,197

Osage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,658 1,354 5,491 1,394 15,897

Ottawa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,432 623 3,174 448 10,677

Paiute. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,705 1,163 2,315 349 13,532

Pima. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,519 999 1,741 234 11,493

Potawatomi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,817 592 8,602 584 25,595

Pueblo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59,533 3,527 9,943 1,082 74,085

Puget Sound Salish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,034 226 3,212 159 14,631

Seminole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,431 2,982 9,505 2,513 27,431

Shoshone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,739 714 3,039 534 12,026

Sioux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108,272 4,794 35,179 5,115 153,360

Tohono O’odham . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,466 714 1,748 159 20,087

Ute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,309 715 1,944 417 10,385

Yakama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,481 561 1,619 190 10,851

Yaqui . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,224 1,245 5,184 759 22,412

Yuman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,295 526 1,051 104 8,976

Other specified American Indian tribes . 240,521 9,468 100,346 7,323 357,658

American Indian tribe, not specified2. . . 109,644 57 86,173 28 195,902

Alaska Athabascan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,520 815 3,218 285 18,838

Aleut. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,941 832 3,850 355 16,978

Eskimo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45,919 1,418 6,919 505 54,761

Tlingit-Haida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,825 1,059 6,047 434 22,365

Other specified Alaska Native tribes . . . 2,552 435 841 145 3,973

Alaska Native tribe, not specified2. . . . . . 6,161 370 2,053 118 8,702

American Indian or Alaska Native

tribes, not specified3

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511,960 (X) 544,497 (X) 1,056,457

X Not applicable.

1

The numbers by American Indian and Alaska Native tribal grouping do not add to the total population. This is because the American

Indian and Alaska Native tribal groupings are tallies of the number of American Indian and Alaska Native responses rather than the number

of American Indian and Alaska Native respondents. Respondents reporting several American Indian and Alaska Native tribes are counted

several times. For example, a respondent reporting ‘‘Apache and Blackfeet’’ would be included in the Apache as well as Blackfeet numbers.

2

Includes respondents who checked the ‘‘American Indian or Alaska Native’’ response category on the census questionnaire or wrote in

a tribe not specified in the American Indian and Alaska Native Tribal Detailed Classification List for Census 2000.

3

Includes respondents who checked the ‘‘American Indian or Alaska Native’’ response category on the census questionnaire or wrote in

the generic term ‘‘American Indian’’ or ‘‘Alaska Native,’’ or tribal entries not elsewhere classified.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000, special tabulations.

U.S. Census Bureau 11
Race data from Census 2000

Summary File 1 were released on a

state-by-state basis during the summer of 2001, including data for

selected American and Alaska

Native tribal groupings. 

The Census 2000 Summary File 1

data are available on the Internet

via factfinder.census.gov and for

purchase on CD-ROM and on DVD. 

For information on confidentiality

protection, nonsampling error, and

definitions, also see

www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/

sf1.pdf or contact our Customer

Services Center at 301-763-INFO

(4636).

For more information on specific

races in the United States, go to

www.census.gov and click on

“Minority Links.” This Web page

includes information about Census

2000 and provides links to reports

based on past censuses and surveys

focusing on the social and economic

characteristics of the Black or African

American, American Indian and

Alaska Native, Asian, and Native

Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander

populations.

Information on other population

and housing topics is presented in

the Census 2000 Brief series, located on the U.S. Census Bureau’s Web

site at

www.census.gov/population/www/

cen2000/briefs.html. This series

presents information on race,

Hispanic origin, age, sex, household

type, housing tenure, and other

social, economic, and housing characteristics.

For more information about Census

2000, including data products, call

our Customer Services Center at

301-763-INFO (4636), or e-mail

webmaster@census.gov.

Figure 6.

Largest Alaska Native Tribal Groupings: 2000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 1.

(For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, 

see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf1.pdf)

Aleut

Alaska Athabascan

Tlingit-Haida

Eskimo

Alaska Native tribal 

grouping alone 

Alaska Native tribal grouping alone 

or in any combination

22,365 

14,520

11,941

16,978 

18,838

14,825

45,919

54,761

U.S. Department of Commerce

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