American Indian Policy Center

Research Reports

Searching for Justice, 2005

Reflections on Traditional American Indian Ways, 1998

Threats to Tribal Sovereignty, 1998

Traditional American Indian Leadership: A Comparison with U.S. Governance, 1997

Communications and Relationships Between Reservation American Indians and Non-Indians from Neighboring Communities, 1997

American Indians & Home Ownership, 1995

Population Data

The U.S Department of Census defines, “American Indian” as people who have origins in America and who maintain tribal affiliation or Indian community attachment. In the 2000 census, respondents were able to indicate more than one race, a change from previous censuses. Because of this change, two approaches are now used to report race data: “race alone” or “race in combination with other races.” This study uses “American Indian alone” category. The Census data indicates that American Indians who reported American Indian alone and in combination with another race made up 1.5% of Minnesota’s total population. Those reporting “American Indian alone,” were 0.9 % of Minnesota’s total population.

Another classification of “American Indian” unrelated to the U.S. Census is “tribally enrolled,” meaning that an individual is a member of a tribe and is officially on the rolls of a federally recognized tribe. This classification is rooted in the sovereign status retained by Indian tribes and is upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez, 436 U.S. 49, 72 (1978).

Minnesota is home to seven Ojibwe and four Dakota reservations. The percent of American Indian population varies across reservations. At Mille Lacs, 26% of the total population identified themselves as American Indian or Alaska Native alone while 98% of the total population at Red Lake identified themselves as such (Appendix A). Minnesota has one of the largest American Indian populations in the country. In 2000, 54,967 Census respondents reported their race as American Indian or Alaska Native Alone. Only twelve other states reported a greater population of American Indians (Appendix B). Also as Table 1 notes, over 37% of the total American Indian population resides in the seven county metropolitan area.

TABLE 1

AMERICAN INDIAN POPULATION Minnesota , 1990 and 2000

	Saint Paul	Minneapolis	Metropolitan Counties*	Reservation Totals	Minnesota
1990 Census Count	3,400	12,335	23,340	26,066	49,909
2000 American Indian Alone	3,259	8,378	20,417	17,107	54,967
2000 American Indian + One Race	2,218	3,347	12,493	1,215	22,743
2000 Categories Combined	5,477	11,725	32,910	18,322	77,710

Source: U.S. Census 2000

Includes the counties of Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington.

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The Well-Being of American Indian Children in Minnesota: Economic Conditions, 1994

Research Reports

Population Data

AMERICAN INDIAN POPULATION

Minnesota , 1990 and 2000