ABSTRACT
The United States Census Bureau estimates that as of 2007 there were approximately 4.5 million people in the United States who identified themselves as American Indian or Alaska Native (alone or in combination with other races), amounting to 1.5 percent of the total population (US Census Bureau 2008). This estimate is projected to go up to 8.6 million within the next 40 years and partially reflects the increasing numbers of people who identify themselves as American Indian (Passell 1996: 79-102). The definition of “Indian” is complex. Many people, including the American Indians themselves, use the terms American Indian and Native American interchangeably, thus the terms are used interchangeably in this chapter. However, the preferred term seems to be American Indian, with some desiring to be referred to according to the tribal group to which they belong (Bureau of Labor Statistics 1995). There are 562 federally recognized tribes and nations in the Unites States, with ten main American Indian tribal groups and four main Alaska Native groups (Indian Affairs 2008). The main American Indian tribal groups are: Apache, Cherokee, Chippewa, Choctaw, Creek, Iroquois, Lumbee, Navaho, Pueblo, and Sioux. The main Alaska Native tribal groups are: Alaska Athabascan, Aleut, Eskimo and Tlingit-Haida (US Census Bureau 2000). These tribes speak over 200 indigenous languages. This only begins to illustrate the diversity within the American Indian and Alaska Native groups. Thus, it is impossible to avoid generalizations that gloss over tribal differences. However, in general, a broader overview is important for basic knowledge. Further complicating this is that not everyone who identifies as American Indian is actually counted as Indian. General guidelines have been developed to determine eligibility for health services. By some guidelines an Indian is a person who has two qualifications: (a) ancestors living in America before its discovery, and (b) being recognized as Indian by his or her tribe or community (Cohen 1982). Using this protocol, my father would not be considered Indian, even though both parents are from Indian descent. He is not currently recognized as Indian by his tribe, simply because he has not initiated that recognition; however, he identifies himself as American Indian. Two surveys shed light on Native American Religion: the National Survey of Religious Identification conducted in 1990, and the American Religious Identity Survey conducted in 2001. Both suggest that Native American Religion is among the top 20 (twelfth out of 20) religions in the United States, with a 119 percent increase between 1990 and 2000, and representing 0.05 percent of the United States population in 2000. Demographics within Native American Religion are more complex. First, many Native Americans do not regard their spiritual beliefs as religion. There is no word for religion in the Native languages. Their religion is a way of life that integrates all aspects of life into a whole, and it is understood entirely
within the context of the spiritual and the sacred. Thus, Native American religion and spirituality is entirely cultural. One does not “convert” to this religion any more than one “converts” to being Native American. Second, due to a history of long term contact with missions and Christian influences, many Native Americans are Christian while also holding onto traditional tribal beliefs.
