1) The census takers will know who is Indian by
you - You will be asked your race and, if you say
Native American, you will be asked your tribe. (Most
wannabees are unable to identify a tribe to which they
belong)
2) The problem is not that a few non-Indians claim to
be Indian in the Census. THose numbers are very small.
The real problem is that the Indian population is badly
undercounted. Many Indians are, for good reason, suspicious
of the federal government, and refuse to
cooperate with the census. This is bad news for other
Indian people, as the funding for many programs is
census-based - if you don't have the numbers, you don't
get the funding.
3) The other problem is that the census takers have not
always been good at making Indian people feel comfortable.
THey may not try to approach an Indian family. They
may ask a neighbor. In a city, neighbors don't always
know each other and might assume that their Indian
neighbor is, for instance, Hispanic.
4) In census 2000, for the first time, there is a racial
category called "Mixed or Other". THis could prove to
be a big problem in counting the Indian population, since many
in our Community are mixed bloods.
IF YOU CHECK "MIXED", YOU WILL NOT BE COUNTED AS INDIAN.
You do not have to be a full blood to be legally an Indian,
so you are helping the Indian count if you check Native
American
5) If you have a Hispanic surname, you may be counted as
Hispanic, if you do not fill out the section on Hispanic
origin. This too could contribute to Indian undercounting
this time.
So - be proud and fill in that census form - check
yourself as Indian.
aho,
Mary Jo (Mohawk)