THE MEASURE OF INDIANS E


BY ALEXANDER EWEN AND IVANA MARAVIC


THE LARGEST SCIENTIFIC STUDY IN THE WORLD, NAMELY THE U.S. CENSUS, HAS ALWAYS HAD DIFFICULTY DEALING WITH AMERICAN INDIANS.


xcluded from the 10-year count until 1890, many tribal mem- bers have regarded this federal government intrusion with great suspicion. Compounded by ques-


tionable attitudes in the census leadership, the result was a severe undercount of the Native population through the mid-20th


century. Yet


federal programs rely on census figures for spending decisions, an important reason that Indian Country is so often short-changed. In recent years, the census has tried to


make amends. Its efforts to count more ac- curately led to a statistical “population explo- sion” of American Indians from 1970 to 1990, and the work continues. Over the past few years, the Census Depart-


ment has been considering new changes in the questions it asks about race and ethnicity. The department periodically alters these questions to keep up with shifts in the social fabric of the nation. It has become concerned either that its current categories do not fully reflect the backgrounds of the American people or that the questions are too confusing for people to answer. In the 2010 census, more than 19 mil- lion people could not give their background but chose the category, “some other race.”


54 AMERICAN INDIAN SUMMER/FALL 2014 The importance of the census data and its


many political ramifications make accuracy vital to understanding the social, economic and political well-being of the country’s vari- ous peoples. Yet for Native Americans, the is- sue is sensitive because “Native American” or “American Indian” is in itself a catchall catego- ry. It does not reflect the tremendous diversity of the Native cultures of this hemisphere. This complexity and the distinct political and so- cial issues that have faced Indians over the past century have made it particularly difficult for the Census Department to gather and report data. For much of the 20th


century the census


was viewed, as were many other government programs, with suspicion by many Indians, who were fighting to protect their rights and lands, often from the very same government. We recently published a study in Indian


Country Today, “How to Make the Census Count for Natives,” that detailed the difficul- ties the Census Department has faced. Up until 1890, most Indians were excluded from


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