1.1. Population Composition and Growth

In 2006, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated there were 4.5 million persons living in the United States who identified themselves as American Indian/ Alaska Native alone or in combination with one or more other races.¹ Of these persons, 2.9 million were American Indian/Alaska Native alone and 1.6 million were American Indian/Alaska Native in combination with one or more other races. Of the American Indian/Alaska Native alone population, 2.3 million were non-Hispanic and 0.6 million were Hispanic. Of the American Indian/Alaska Native in combination with one or more other races population, 1.4 million were non-Hispanic and 0.2 million were Hispanic.

Data from the 2006 American Community Survey (ACS) provide additional information on the American Indian/Alaska Native population. In the 2006 ACS, respondents who selected American Indian/Alaska Native as their only race were then asked to provide the name of their tribe or village. Respondents who provided the name of a tribe or village were classified as American Indian or Alaska Native based on the origin of the tribe(s) and/or village(s). Respondents who did not provide a tribe or village were categorized as "tribe not specified. In 2006, the American Indian/Alaska Native alone population, including those who identified themselves as of Hispanic ethnicity, was about 81 percent American Indian and 4 percent Alaska Native, with 15 percent of American Indians/Alaska Natives not specifying their background beyond American Indian/Alaska Native.

The Census Bureau projects that the non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native alone population will grow from 2.1 million in 2000 to 3.2 million in 2050. The projected rate of increase between the years 2000 and 2050 for the American Indian/ Alaska Native population (54 percent) will exceed that for the White population (9 percent), but will be slower than the expected rate of increase for Hispanics (175 percent) and Asian/Pacific Islanders (230 percent) and slightly slower than the rate for Blacks (56 percent). The differences in the projected rates of increase indicate that the distribution of the population will change. According to these projections, the percentage of the population that is White will decrease from 69 to 53 percent between 2000 and 2050. The percentages of the population that are of other races/ethnicities, however, will increase during this period: Blacks, from 12 to 13 percent; Hispanics, from 13 to 24 percent, Asians/ Pacific Islanders, from 4 to 9 percent; and American Indians/Alaska Natives, from 0.7 to 0.8 percent.

View Table 1.1a

View Table 1.1b

View Table 1.1c