Alaska Native in the United States

2000 census and other source excerpts
with commentaries by Maria Coleman

Primary Source:  U.S. Census Bureau, “We the People: American Indian and Alaska Natives in the United States” – Census 2000 Special Reports

 

These statistics are based on individuals reporting their race as Alaska Native combined with those reporting more than one race including an Alaska Native race.

· POPULATION – Can you believe that we, as Alaska Natives, are told that we are having a population explosion?  We are a rare and precious people

.04 percent of U.S. Population, or 4/100s of 1 percent, or 4 in 10,000 people, or Fewer than half of a percent of the U.S. Population, or 1 in 2,500 people

 

Only 20 percent, a little more than 24,000 live outside of Alaska.  About 16 percent of those living in Alaska reside in Anchorage, the largest city.

HISTORICAL INFORMATION, by George W. Rogers, November 1971

Institute of Social, Economic and Government Research

University of Alaska (Alaskool.org)

· AGE – Alaska Natives are younger than the general population.  Both death and pregnancies occur at an earlier age than in other statistical groups.

· MARITAL STATUS OF HOUSEHOLDS –

Alaska Natives are more likely to be single and have more children.

“American Indians and Alaska Natives had a higher percentage of family households maintained by a woman with no husband present and a higher percentage of family households maintained by a man with no wife present than the total population.”

· EDUCATION – Alaska Natives are more likely to drop out before finishing high school and less likely to finish college.

Studies have found that Alaska Natives tend to take longer to complete college, averaging 10 years.  Cultural conflict, family needs, and stress of an unfamiliar environment away from their accustomed family-oriented lifestyle contribute substantially, according to some students.

· Labor Force Participation Rate by GENDER: 2000 –

Alaska Native women are more likely to have a job than average U.S. females.

· Median Earnings by GENDER: 1999 –

Alaska Native women with jobs bring home more bacon than the average U.S. female and support more people with their earnings.

· Poverty Rate: 1999 – Based on other reports, Subsistence activities, health issues, stereotyping, and distance from economic development influence the poverty rates as shown below

· HOUSING

Alaska Natives are more likely to rent or be homeless than other populations.  While the U.S. average rate of owner occupied homes is 66.2 percent, the average rate for Alaska Natives is 57.1 percent.

 “American Indians and Alaska Natives living on tribal lands were more likely to live in owner-occupied housing than those living outside tribal areas.”

· Southern Poverty Law Center, Intelligence Project

Malign Neglect – Racial violence against Native Americans has drawn attention from the federal government twice in recent years, but many hate crimes still seem to get a pass.

by Susy Buchanan

"There are systemic institutional racism problems against Alaska Natives that have occurred for a long time," David Levy, the executive director of the Anchorage Equal Rights Commission who likens the treatment of Alaska Natives in Anchorage to that of African Americans in the Deep South 50 years ago, told the commission. "These problems are going to take a long time to deal with."

· Child welfare and protective services

                      http://www.childwelfare.com/alaska.htm 

While Alaska Natives make up 16% of the state population, Alaska Native children are involved in roughly 58% of reports to child protection services.  The State of Alaska reports 43% of Children on Welfare are Alaska Native.

· Anchorage School District    www.asdk12.org

In the 2004-2005 school year, 11.42% of Alaska Native & American Indian students Dropped Out of school.  The rate for All Students was 6.48%.  In the 2005-2006 school year, 10.8% of Alaska Native & American Indian students Dropped Out of school.  The rate for All Students was 6.28%.  Caucasians had the lowest percentage of dropout students.  The Dropout Rate includes students who have transferred.

 

In the 2004-2005 school year, 32.98% of Alaska Native & American Indian students graduated.  The rate for All Students was 59.59%.  In the 2005-2006 school year, 37.5% of Alaska Native & American Indian students graduated.  The rate for All Students was 63.91%.  Caucasians had the highest percentage of graduates.

· Source:  Alaska Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Human Rights, June 1999

“OCR (Office of Civil Rights) questioned if the (Juneau) district was considering whether a child’s problems in school could be a result of cultural and linquistic differences, rather than an actual disability.  OCR completed its compliance review and determined that its findings supported ‘a conclusion that the district did not fully comply with Title VI, section 504. and Title II.”

“Robin Rehmann noted that 46 percent of all students in the State are within the Anchorage School district.”

“Although recognizing the problem with an analysis based solely on statistics, the Advisory Committee believes that special education programs in the Anchorage and the Fairbanks Northstar Borough school districts have an overrepresentation of Native Alaskans and American Indians.”

“Through its review of data provided by the school districts, the Advisory Committee discovered a lack of ethnic diversity in the certificated and instructional staff within special education programs.”

· Status of Alaska Natives 2004 Report, Chapter 3:

The life expectancy of Alaska Natives increased to age 69.5 in 1997.

It was 46.4 years in 1950.

The average life expectancy for All Americans is 76.5.

It was 68.2 in 1950.

“About 77 percent of rural homes had safe water and sewer systems by 2003.”

“Rates of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) among Alaska Native children increased from 2.5 cases per 1,000 births in the late 1980s to 5 per 1,000 in the late 1990s. FASD is many times more common among Alaska Natives than other Alaskans and other Americans.”

Analysts say alcohol plays a part in 80 percent of child abuse in all substantiated cases, without regard to ethnicity.  Two parent families account for 44.6% of cases.  From 1997 through 2001, 53% of those cases were Alaska Native.  And, 72% of those cases were due to neglect.

“Alaska Native women are victims of domestic violence and sexual assault far more often than other Alaska women. From 2000-2003, 36 percent of the victims of domestic violence and 44 percent of the victims of sexual assault were Native, although they make up only about 19 percent of adult Alaskans.”

“More than a third of Alaska’s prison inmates are Alaska Natives, although they make up only about a fifth of Alaskans. The number of Native prisoners increased 50 percent from 1993-2002, a rate considerably faster than overall Native population growth. Native prisoners are mainly men ages 20 to 49. Law enforcement authorities link a large share of crime to alcohol.”

“Diabetes soared among Alaska Natives in the past 15 years. In 1985, about 16 of every 1,000 Natives had diabetes—about half the rate among other Americans. By 1999, diabetes among Natives had doubled, to 31.4 cases per 1,000—above the U.S. rate of 30.1.”

“Heart disease is now as widespread among Alaska Natives as among other Alaskans. Twenty years ago, heart disease was less common among Alaska Natives.”

The leading causes of death among Alaska Natives are Cancer, Heart Disease, and Unintentional Injury.  Unintentional Injury, once the highest cause, has decreased.  The leading causes of death among White Americans are Heart Disease and Cancer.

 

Alaskans were put on 40 to 46 day waiting lists for substance abuse treatment in 2002.  Ninety percent was for alcohol abuse.

 

High school student surveys showed an increase in marijuana use and a decrease in binge drinking between 1995 and 2000.

“Alaska Native adults are much more likely than non-Natives to smoke … From 1991 through 2002 the percentage of Native adults who smoke hovered between 40 and 45 percent, compared with about 25 percent among non-Native adults.”

“The percentage of Native adults considered ‘obese’ climbed from about 18 percent to 30 percent in just the decade of the 1990s. Among non-Natives, rates of obesity climbed from around 12 percent of adults to over 20 percent in the 1990s.”

· 2002 Economic Census, Survey of Minority-Owned Business Enterprises, U.S. Census Bureau

“There were 201,387 American Indian and Alaska Native owned businesses in the United States in 2002 -- with receipts of $26.9 billion.”