The Washington times., 1915-07-09
INCREASE SHOWN IN
INDIAN POPULATION
Census Bureau, However, Sees
Tendency Of FulI-BIooded
Red Men to Disappear.

Although the Bureau of the Census,
in a report made public today. sees q
tendency OF the full-blooded Indian to
disappear altogether, the figures which
the report contains show that as a
matter Of fact the number OF Indians,
full-blooded and mixed. Is increasing.
1t will be many a long year before
| poor Lo Is extinct at the rate the CEN
sus figures give as to change in popu-
lation. and a good many generations
before he is relic Of the past. like
the buffalo he used to hunt. For a
race which has so long been depicted
with all hope lost the red man may
fairly be said to be doing quite we'll.
Today's figures show that the Indian
population Of the United States. exclu-
In 1910 was 2s5.6s3. representing an
| increase Of 1890. or per cent. over
the number reported in 1890, when the
Census t;, Bureau Bur usi made It's first enumera.
census the only Americans whose
native ancestry extends further back
than a century or two-or three at the
utmost-constituted less than three
tenths Of l per cent OF the entire popu-
| lation.
Illiteracy On Decrease.
The data show a much lower rate
of growth for the Indian population
than for the white; an increasing ad-
mixture OF white blood; decreasing
vitality of full-blooded Indians. which
the Bureau says indicates a tendency
to disappear altogether: increasing
attendance at school and decreasing
illiterecy; an increase in the per-
centage Of the self-supporting, and a
decrease in the number of reserva-
tion Indians.
In the sense that the Indian seems
, a n
ual absorption into the white race,
the red man. as shown by these fig
ures. is disappearing. In the sense
that ,he total of Indians. full-blood
| lation since 1890, the disappearance
} theory is lacking foundation.
OF the total Indian population. a.
. s25. or Is per cent. are in one State.
, Oklahoma. and 160.lo7, or so per cent,
. In FIVE states, Oklahoma, Arizona.
New Mexico. South Dakota and Cali
: fornia-
Polygamy Among Indians.
The Indian tribes are ESQ, compris-
ing 50 linguistic stocks. The most
!; important tribes hume rically are the
Cherokee. Ns"ajo, Chippewa, Ghoc,
taw and the Teton Sioux. These
by more than 1000 members each
forty-four tribes had more than 1000
members each.
a
ored in the United States, Indians
marry somewhat earlier in life. This
tendency toward earlier marriage is
due in part at least. to the fact that
the male reservation Indian is as as
sured Of a livelihood at the age of Id
as he is later in life.
Polygamy exists TO light extent
Out Of 4s4 Indian males Lying in poly
gamy in 1910. 327 were Navajos.
OF the total Indian population, l6o',
=. 053, or 66.5 per cent, were reported a:
full bloods and 93.423, or 35.2 per cent
, as mixed bloods. For the remainder
u no information on this point was given
but It is probable the majority wes' r.
mi1sa per cent OF shs asa Pt00 mxture
white and Indain blood.
An interesting and Significant fac
is that children born OF mixed mar
riages are more numerous and Yor'
likely to survive than those born o
O. marriages between full-blooded In
n. dians The greater the amount
white blood represented in any elias
o; of marriages the greater the proper
n ton OF surviving children. The bureal
:, concludes that the data on fecundit'
!" and vitality point toward one conclu
IN sion, land that is that tn increase o
&: tho mixed blood India. Is mucl
greater than that of the fdll-blood In
or now at work undergo a decided chang
p the full bloods are destined TO form
decreasing proportion of the total IN
N, N, dian population and ultimately 10 ols
y appear altogether"
The occupations in which Indians ar
engaged are diverJihed in character
ranging all the way from unskille
20 labor to some OF the highest proprie
4. tary, official. professional, and skille
pursuits,