The Indian Population

No one knows how many Indians were living in the Americas when Europeans first arrived. Estimates for the area that became the United States usually range from 900,000 to 2,000,000. Some authorities estimate that there was a reduction from 900,000 at the time of Columbus to about 250,000 by 1900, mainly because of epidemics of smallpox and other diseases. Since 1900 there has been an increase because of improved health and sanitation.

Determining the Indian population today is complicated by the fact that there are many persons of part-Indian ancestry. The U.S. Census Bureau counts as Indian anyone who chooses to be so identified. According to the 2000 census, about 2.5 million people identify themselves as Indian, and 1.6 million counted themselves as Indian and some other race. Most of the Indian population is concentrated in California, Oklahoma, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Washington.

About half the Indians in the United States live in urban areas. Many of the remainder are on or near reservations or tribal lands and are under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Although reservations are under BIA jurisdiction, tribal governments manage tribal affairs. Most Indians on reservations wish to preserve their separate identity and their traditional culture.

The Indian population in the United States and the approximately 300,000 Indians in Canada are only a small part of the Indians in the Americas. There are an estimated 45,500,000 full-blooded Indians in Latin America, more than 15 per cent of the total population. Full-blooded Indians make up more than 40 per cent of the population in four countries—Ecuador, Guatemala, Peru, and Bolivia. Only about 10 per cent of all Mexicans have no Indian ancestors.