Native American underrepresentation in the U.S. Census
(no name) ((no email))
Thu, 3 Sep 1992 20:01:00 EDT
My name is Benjamin Islas, I am a Native American of the Nahua tribe from
Mexico. I am of Athabascan descent, my tribe is very much mixed with the
Dine people, who came to Mexico 600 yrs ago. Please write to me at BI6837
@rachel.Albany.edu" . I come speaking as an Indian angry at how the U.S.
is underrepresenting us. The U.S. Census puts us at 1 to 2% of the U.S.
population. They include Native Americans only as people of tribes recog-
nized within U.S. and Canada. We are much larger than that. The U.S. Gov.
is playing the racial card for we are much more than they say. They do not
include the Native Americans from Greenland, Mexico, Central, and South
America. The Nations such as, Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, Bolivia, Nicaragua,
Paraguay, Chile, El Salvador have enormous populations of American Indian
descent. Some trace their indianness through tribal affialiations or through
calling themselves Mestizo. The people do not differ from Natives in the the
U.S. They speak Spanish as we in the U.S. speak English. Yet by blood,
physical appearances, tradition they are all Native American. A Mexican who
is Native by tribal affiliation has to write down "HISPANIC" not Native
American because he has no Indian Card. Who are we kidding. The demograph-
ics of this nation have to change. If the majority of Hispanics are Mexican
by which 85% are of Native American descent-either full blood or mixed-
then we should take these numbers and add them to our statistics, and change
the policy of considering Native Americans as of descendent from Tribes
recognized in U.S. and Canada to all people of Native American Descent in
North and South America.