ABSTRACT
The racial and ethnic variability of rural United States has been largely ignored by both social scientists and a majority of the population. This chapter describes the circumstances and most important problems facing some of the many American rural ethnic and racial minorities. Ethnic minority groups in any society evolve in one of two ways: as a result of one culture coming in contact with another culture on a continuous basis, or as a result of internal cultural and social differentiation. Minority group status implies negative social ranking reinforced by prejudices and/or discrimination. Combining rural status with ethnic or racial minority status generally produces an "ethclass" that is substantially more disadvantaged than their urban counterparts. The American Indian population is one of the fastest growing ethnic minorities in the United States. The American Indian population is among the youngest of American minorities: a median age of 20.4 years in 1970 as compared with 28.9 for whites and 19.3 for Mexican-Americans.
