ABSTRACT
The diagnosis and treatment of skin diseases in Native Americans represent a unique challenge to the dermatologist. With the increasing population of Native Americans in the United States, from 1.42 million in 1980 to more than 1.9 million in 1990, comes a greater need to understand the biology and pathophysiology of dermatoses in Native American skin.1 Additionally, a lack of epidemiologic data and clinical trials to guide our diagnostic and therapeutic methods further complicates the challenge. The scant data available was published in the early 20th century and consists primarily of case reports. The unique cultural habits and varied skin pigmentation of Native Americans gives rise to many disease variations. These factors, which alter disease appearance, also alter therapeutic considerations. Our goal is to begin to address some of the more common and unique skin diseases in the Native American population.
