Pennsylvania, Nation Celebrating Native American History Month

November 5, 1998

MIDDLETOWN, Pa. -- -November is Native American History Month. In observance of
this occasion, the Pennsylvania State Data Center at Penn State Harrisburg profiles the Native
American (defined as "American Indian, Eskimo, and Aleut" by the U.S. Census Bureau)
populations of the state and the nation.

In connection with the observance, Dr. Brent Glass, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania
Historical and Museum Commission, has the following remarks. "Recognizing the presence of
Native Americans in Pennsylvania provides a bridge to our past reaching back thousands of years,"
he says. "Thought to be the original peoples of Pennsylvania, Native Americans are an important
cornerstone of our heritage and an important beginning to understand and study our state."

POPULATION: Pennsylvania was home to 17,158 Native Americans in 1997 which
represented 0.1 percent of the state's total inhabitants. This population grew 32 percent from 11,132
in 1980 to 14,733 in 1990 and nearly 16 percent since 1990. The U.S. Census Bureau
projects that Pennsylvania's Native American population will grow 68.8 percent from 1995 to 2025
to reach about 27,000.

Of the 1990 Native American population in the Commonwealth, 14,210 (96.4 percent) were
American Indians while 264 were Eskimos and 259 were Aleuts. The tribes most represented in the
Commonwealth's American Indian population in 1990 were Cherokee (24 percent), Iroquois (8
percent) and Sioux (3.5 percent).

There were an estimated 2.3 million Native Americans in the United States in July, 1998
according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This figure constituted 0.9 percent of the total population.
More than one-third of the nation's Native American population resided in California, Oklahoma,
and Arizona. The highest concentrations of Native Americans were in Alaska (16.9 percent of the
state's total population), New Mexico, South Dakota, and Oklahoma (7.8 percent). Since July 1990,
the Native American population in the United States has grown 12 percent while the non-Hispanic
White population has increased by 3 percent. The nation's Native American population is projected
to grow steadily to 2.4 million in 2000 and 3.3 million in 2025. By the middle of the next century,
the Native American population in the United States is expected to reach 4.4 million and constitute
1.1 percent of the total population. According to the Census Bureau, these changes are due in large
part to changes in self-identification.

The 1990 national Native American population breaks down into 96.1 percent American
Indian, 2.8 percent Eskimo, and 1.1 percent Aleut. The most common tribes were Cherokee (19
percent), Navajo (11.6 percent), and Sioux (5.5 percent).

AGE: The median age of Native Americans in Pennsylvania in 1990 was 31.4, about 4.5
years younger than the White median age of 35.9, according to statistics from the U.S. Census
Bureau.

In 1997, the median age of the nation's Native American population (27.2 years) was more
than a decade younger than that of Non-Hispanic Whites (37.4).

FAMILY & CHILDREN: Of Pennsylvania's 4,187 Native American families in 1990, 2,589
or 61.8 percent included children. More than half (64 percent) of those families with children were
married couples while 27.3 percent were female-headed families. Of the Commonwealth's male
Native American population aged 15 and over, 45.4 percent were married compared to 41.3 percent
of females. Pennsylvania's average Native American family size of 3.31 persons was larger than
the 3.06 for Whites but smaller than that of the other race categories.

There were an estimated 713,397 Native American households in the United States in 1997.
Of these, 75 percent were made up of families, where 65 percent were married couples, 27 percent
were female-headed and 9 percent were male-headed families.

EDUCATION: Of the 2,147,776 students enrolled in Pennsylvania public schools for the
1997-98 academic year, 2,056 or 0.1 percent were Native American. Elementary students of this
racial category totaled 1,100 and secondary students numbered 956. No Native Americans were
enrolled in charter schools in 1997-98.

Of the 873 secondary students enrolled in 1996-97, 29 dropped out of school which
translates to a rate of 3.3 percent, somewhat higher than the 2.6 rate for the state overall. What
happened to the dropouts? As reported by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, about one-
sixth became blue-collar workers, a second sixth were unemployed, another sixth went on to get a
GED or other education, and remaining half became service workers.

1990 Census figures show that the Native American population had a lower percentage of
high school graduates (67.8) than the 74.7 percent for all Pennsylvanians and 12 percent held
college degrees compared to 17.9 percent overall. Enrollment of Native American in the United
States was 1.1 percent of public school students in 1994, according to the National Center for
Education Statistics. In the nation in 1990, 66 percent of Native Americans aged 25 and over were
high school graduates, a great improvement from the 1980 figure of 56 percent but still well below
the 75 percent for the total population. About 9 percent had completed bachelor's degrees or higher
compared to the 20 percent of the total population who achieved this level of education.

INCOME & POVERTY: There are large differences in income and poverty between Native
American and other race groups in both Pennsylvania and the United States. In Pennsylvania, the
1989 average household income for Native Americans was $28,059, significantly lower than the
$36,684 reported for all households. The Commonwealth's per capita income in the same year was
$14,068 but for Native Americans was only $10,546. The Native American poverty rate was 26.1
while that for Whites was 8.8.

In the United States that year, the median family income for Native Americans declined by
5 percent from the previous census (in 1989 dollars) to $21,750 which is about 62 percent of the
median for all families ($35,225). The poverty rate for this race group was 31 percent, considerably
higher than the 13 percent for the total population.

For national household income of the Native American population in 1998, 5.8 percent were
in the top tenth income bracket compared to 13.2 percent of the White population. Less than 6
percent of Whites were in the lowest tenth with 12.8 percent of Native Americans.

Also that year, more than one quarter of the nation's Native Americans lived below poverty
whereas 11.2 percent of Whites were poor.

LABOR FORCE: Of 12,659 Pennsylvanian Native Americans aged 16 and over in 1990, 63
percent were in the civilian labor force. This figure breaks down into 69 percent for men and 56
percent for women. The Native American labor force was 42 percent female compared to the 45
percent for all races. Of those Native Americans in the labor force, 12.2 percent were
unemployed - 13 percent of males and 11.2 percent of females. This rate is more than double the
Commonwealth's overall unemployment rate of 6 percent.

BUSINESS: In the United States between 1987 and 1992, Native American owned
businesses grew in number from 52,980 to 102,234, a 93 percent increase, much larger than the
overall U.S. rate of 26 percent. Receipts increased by 115 percent ($3.7 billion to $8.1 billion) for
Native American owned firms and 67 percent for all firms.

The state-sponsored Pennsylvania State Data Center is the Commonwealth's official source
of population and economic statistics and services. It is based at Penn State Harrisburg's Institute
of State and Regional Affairs.
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Editors: For more information, contact Amy Jonas at the Data Center's State Capital Office, (717)
772-2710, or the Penn State Harrisburg's Public Information Office, (717) 948-6029.

Source of Information: U.S. Census Bureau ; Pennsylvania
Department of Education ; National
Center for Education Statistics