ABSTRACT
There are over 4.4 million Native Americans in the United States (U.S. Census Bureau, 2004). States with more than 40,000 Native American inhabitants include California, Oklahoma, Arizona, New Mexico, North Carolina, Washington, and South Dakota (Axelson, 1993; Baruth & Manning, 1991; Lieberg, 1996). California had the highest number of American Indian/Alaska natives of any state in the nation, followed by Oklahoma and Arizona. About 6400 American Indians and Alaska natives were added to Arizona’s population between 2003 and 2004, the largest numeric increase of any state in the nation. The proportion of Alaska’s population identified as American Indian and Alaska native as of 2004 was the highest rate for this group nationally, followed by Oklahoma and New Mexico. The number of American Indians and Alaska natives in Los Angeles County, California, was 153,500 as of 2004,
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leading the nation’s counties in the total number of people in this category. Maricopa County, Arizona, added about 3000 people of this group between 2003 and 2004, leading the nation’s counties in the total number of people added in this category.
