WhoMe

Cherokee 729,533
Navajo 298,197
Latin American Indian 180,940
Choctaw 158,774
Sioux 153,360
Chippewa 149,669
Apache 96,833
Blackfeet 85,750
Iroquois 80,822
Pueblo 74,085

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


Do you think this is valid?

What are your thoughts???

__________________
"Today, recognizing and respecting the origins of powwow aids in our Cultural Survival. If enough people break the rules because they are not satisfied...."We will have no culture."

WhoMe

kiowakat

That would be great if it were true LMAO..In 2000 The Feds sent a Census Bureau Agent around here and reported from the St. Louis Area is like 40 thousand Native American Indians are living here. I was picked by University of Missouri to take this Agent around and show him the Native American Families and believe me there was nothing close to that count. Now this is what kind of numbers they are working with the make a new center here and its wrong!!!...when the Census Bureau sends out their little pamplet and that person, that recieves it, can check any race box they wish... now how accurate is that???...lol....personally my opinion is that the Census Bureau should take it directly from the Tribes count of registered members.

Blackbear

LOL I agree with Kiowakat.... not to mention Iroquois?? We are'nt a tribe, we're a confederacy made of 6 nations LOL!

__________________
Don't worry that it's not good enough for anyone else to hear... just sing, sing a song.

WhoMe

BBear,

I just had 2 separate conversations about the very same thing. In our conversations, we had some great discussion on the "broadness" of these census figures:

Cherokee (aka. Aniyunwiya, Keetoowah, Tsalagi) = 3 federally recognized bands and over 25 "others."

Navajo (aka. Dineh') = 17.5 million acre reservation in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah containing appx. 110 chapter houses.

Latin American (aka. Meztizo, Caribbean Natives, AmerIndians etc. etc. etc.) = any tribal peoples "south of the border" who now reside in the US. Whew!

Choctaw (aka. Chatah) = Land bases in Mississippi, Louisana and Oklahoma. Huge urban populations.

Sioux (aka. Lakota, Dakota and Nakoda) = Tribal divisions and subdivisions are located in South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and Montana. There are also bands in Canada.

Chippewa (aka. Ojibwe, Ojibway, Anishinabe) = US bands are located in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota and Montana. Appx. 150 bands including Canada.

Apache (aka. Inde, Nide) = Tribal divisions and sub divisions located in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma.

Blackfeet (aka. Pikuni) = One US band. When included with the Canadian bands are called, "The Blackfoot Confederacy."

Iroquois (aka. Haudenosaunee, Six Nations, Iroquois Confederacy) = Seneca, Cayuga, Tuscarora, Onondaga, Mohawk and Oneida. Located in the states of New York, Oklahoma and Wisconsin. Also have Canadian bands.

Pueblo = Once 120 separate villages. Currently 19 pueblos in New Mexico. Other pueblo groups in Texas(Tigua) and Arizona(Tewa).


Our 2 conversations are definitely "generalized." But so were the check boxes *L


___


To me, anybody could mark a check-box and claim to be one of these tribes.

DO THESE CENSUS FIGURES HELP..OR.. HURT AMERICAN INDIANS???

__________________
"Today, recognizing and respecting the origins of powwow aids in our Cultural Survival. If enough people break the rules because they are not satisfied...."We will have no culture."

WhoMe

Blackbear

well I guess for federal funding they kinda help...

__________________
Don't worry that it's not good enough for anyone else to hear... just sing, sing a song.

kiowakat

I think federal funded money could help if used right, but I also think its bad for the areas that claims to be native and aren't and they line their own pockets without helping Native American Indians that need it. makes for alot of corruption.

WhoMe

Actually, it is a "double-edged sword." Sure we get more funding - to barely fund our underfunded clinics.

However,

most Indian health funding, in urban areas, is quickly used up by "Checkbox Indians" who's sole purpose of claiming Indian is to use these services.


This "fact" is unfortunately - rampant.

In a recent "no child left behind - regional education meeting" that I attended, many Indian education leaders testified that funding meant for Indian students, time and time again, is redirected toward the entire school population to fund items such as: band uniforms, sporting equipment, field trips, school utilities, maintenance support services, etc., etc.

__________________
"Today, recognizing and respecting the origins of powwow aids in our Cultural Survival. If enough people break the rules because they are not satisfied...."We will have no culture."

WhoMe

kiowakat

well whats unfortunate in that regards because I have no children in grade school anymore all college age and still you think there is help for the native american indian (and that sucks I have to say native american indian instead of just native american cause thats another word play and everybody is born native of america) anyways lol we are suppose to have at these colleges Native American study centers just for "Native American" but yet they don't reach out to the student population ...eaxample they didn't even know at this one University where my daughter was attending that she even existed what is up with that...and we also have a program here ran by region 7 out of Kansas City getting federal money to help children in this region and do you think they help hmmmm NO...so thats what happens when the numbers are messed with. GOT DANG whome knows what buttons to push over here hahahahaha

WhoMe

kiowaK,


Why should colleges and universities actually invest MONEY to recruit and help Indians get an education when.....


All they have to do to ""HONOR US"" is use us as their ......


cough, cough**




mascot

__________________
"Today, recognizing and respecting the origins of powwow aids in our Cultural Survival. If enough people break the rules because they are not satisfied...."We will have no culture."

WhoMe

WocusWoman

It's not valid, anyone can say that they are indian, it's another story to prove it. Maybe it helps with funding for the BIA, but I sincerely doubt that funding is based on actual census numbers. I'm sure they go by registered members of tribes who are 1/4 or more. It's typical that many people claim to be cherokee, and these census numbers prove it.

kiowakat