Frequently Asked QuestionsWhich term is preferred, Native American or American Indian?

Both terms are generally acceptable– although many individuals have a preference. American Indian is the legal term used in treaties and the U.S. Constitution, and generally refers specifically to indigenous people of the lower 48 states while Native American includes Alaska Natives as well. Native Hawaiians are not considered to be “Indian” and are their own unique people of Polynesian decent. Indian Country is the most commonly used terminology when referring to the homelands of Native Americans.

How many tribes are there?

There are 567 federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribes and villages. A federally recognized tribe is an American Indian or Alaska Native tribal entity that has a recognized government-to-government relationship with the U.S. In addition, there are more than 60 state-recognized tribes; state-recognition allows for a degree of self-determination at the state, but not federal level.

How many Native Americans are there in the United States?

There are 5.2 million Native Americans and Native Alaskans living in the U.S., including those of more than one race. This represents 2% of the total U.S. population (U.S. Census Bureau 2013). Enrolled members of federally-recognized tribes make up less than half that number: 1.98 million (BIA, 2005) and more than 70% of American Indians live off tribal lands.

Caddo-Wichita-Delaware

Cherokee

Cheyenne-Arapaho

Chickasaw

Choctaw

Citizen PotawatomiNation-

Absentee Shawnee

Kickapoo

Kiowa-Comanche-Apache-

Fort Sill Apache

ModocPeoria

SacandFox

Seminole

Kiowa-Comanche-Apache-Fort Sill Apache/Caddo-

Wichita-Delaware

Miami/Peoria

Creek

Eastern Shawnee

Iowa

Kaw

Miami

Otoe-Missouria

Ottawa

Pawnee

Ponca

Quapaw

Seneca-Cayuga

Tonkawa Wyandotte

Creek/Seminole

Kaw/Ponca

Navajo Nation

Navajo Nation

Navajo Nation

NavajoNation

Navajo Nation

Chemehuevi

Fort Apache

Osage

St. RegisMohawk

San Carlos

Standing Rock

YanktonAllegany

Cattaraugus

Cochiti

FortBerthold

Crow Creek

Duck Valley

Lac duFlambeau

La Jolla

Hoopa Valley

Isleta

Ohkay Owingeh

Omaha

OnondagaNation

NezPerce

Picuris

Sandia

San Ildefonso

SantaAna

Tonawanda

Tuscarora Nation

Santee

Santo Domingo

Southern Ute

Ho-ChunkNation

Cahuilla

Flathead

Gila River

Havasupai

JicarillaApacheNation

Nisqually

Pine Ridge

PrairieBand of

Potawatomi Nation

Skull Valley

Taos

Yurok

BigCypress

Brighton

Fort Bidwell

Fort McDowellYavapai Nation

Fort Yuma

Coeurd'Alene

Kickapoo (KS)

LakeTraverse

IndianTownship

Jemez

Kaibab

Los Coyotes

Lummi

Oneida (WI)

Maricopa(Ak Chin)

Menominee

Mescalero

MoapaRiver

Salt River

San Felipe

Pyramid Lake Paiute

Quinault

RedCliff

Tulalip

SantaClara

Soboba

SokaogonChippewa

WalkerRiver

EasternCherokee

Sac and Fox/Meskwaki

MississippiChoctaw

Fort Hall

Miccosukee

Miccosukee

PassamaquoddyPassamaquoddy

Penobscot

Penobscot

Penobscot

Penobscot

Sac and Fox Nation Iowa (KS-NE)

Winnebago

Wind River

WarmSprings Umatilla

Grand Ronde

Paiute(UT)

YakamaNation

Swinomish

Puyallup

Makah

Kalispel

Spokane

Colville

Fallon Paiute-Shoshone

SummitLake

Goshute

SouthFork

FortMcDermitt

Blackfeet

FortBelknap

Fort Peck

NorthernCheyenne

Rocky Boy's

Crow

Turtle Mountain

Spirit Lake

Cheyenne River

Lower Brule

Rosebud

LacCourteOreilles

BadRiver

StockbridgeMunsee

Grand Portage

Isabella

L'Anse

LeechLake

BoisForte

Fond duLac

WhiteEarth

RedLake

Red Lake

Acoma

Tesuque

Laguna

LagunaNambePojoaque

Zia

Uintahand

Ouray

Hualapai

Tohono O'odham Nation

TohonoO'odhamNation

Ute Mountain

UteMountain

Zuni

Zuni

Zuni

Fort Mojave

ColoradoRiver

Agua Caliente

La Posta

BaronaCampo

Capitan GrandeEwiiaapaayp

Manzanita

Morongo

PalaPaumaand Yuima

Round Valley

Torres-Martinez

Tule River

SantaRosaSanta Ysabel

WashoeRanches

XL Ranch

Hopi

Hopi

Penobscot

Alturas

Augustine

Benton Paiute

Berry Creek

Big Lagoon

BigPine

Bridgeport

Carson

Cedarville

Celilo Village

CoconutCreek

Cold Springs

ColusaCortina

Coyote Valley

Dresslerville

Elko

Enterprise

Fort Pierce

Greenville

Grindstone

Guidiville

Hualapai

Jackson

Jamul

Kickapoo (TX)

Laytonville

Lone Pine

Lookout

Lovelock

Manchester-Point Arena

Middletown

Mille Lacs

Montgomery Creek

NorthernCheyenne

NorthFork

Oil Springs

Oneida Nation

Ontonagon

PitRiver

Quartz Valley

Redding

Roaring Creek

San Manuel

Santa Rosa(Rancheria)

Santa Ynez

Sauk-Suiattle

Seminole (FL)

Sherwood Valley

Stewarts Point

Sulphur Bank

Table Bluff

Table Mountain

Tampa

Tonto Apache

Trinidad

Tuolumne

Twenty-NinePalms

Upper Skagit

Wells

Winnemucca

Yavapai-Prescott

Kickapoo (KS)/Sac and Fox Nation

BattleMountain

BayMills

BigBend

Big Sandy

Big Valley

Bishop

Blue Lake

Burns Paiute

Cabazon

Campbell

Catawba

Chehalis

Chicken Ranch

Chitimacha

Cocopah

ForestCountyPotawatomi

FortIndependence

Coos,Lower Umpqua,and Siuslaw

Coquille

Coushatta

Cow Creek

Dry Creek

Duckwater

Elk Valley

Ely

Flandreau

Karuk

Hannahville

Hoh

Hollywood

Hopland

HoultonMaliseet

Immokalee

Inaja and Cosmit

JamestownS'Klallam

Kalispel

L'Anse

Likely

LowerElwha

Lower Sioux

Nooksack

NorthwesternShoshone

MashantucketPequot

Mesa Grande

Mohegan

Muckleshoot

Narragansett

Pascua Pueblo Yaqui

Pechanga

Picayune

Pinoleville

PleasantPoint

Poarch Creek

St. Croix

San Pasqual

Port GamblePort Madison

Prairie Island

Quileute

Ramona

Redwood Valley

Reno-Sparks

Rincon

Robinson

Rohnerville

Rumsey

Sycuan

Tunica-Biloxi

Turtle Mountain

ShakopeeMdewakanton

Sioux

Shingle Springs

ShoalwaterBay

Siletz

Skokomish

Smith River

SquaxinIsland

Stewart

Stillaguamish

Susanville

Upper Lake

Upper Sioux

Wampanoag-Aquinnah

Woodfords

Yavapai-Apache Nation

Yerington

Ysleta del Sur

Mooretown

Aroostook Bandof Micmac

MississippiChoctaw

Poarch Creek

Jena Bandof Choctaw

Alabama-Coushatta

Kootenai

Passamaquoddy

Ponca (NE)Ponca (NE)

Ponca(NE)

Klamath

Coos, Lower Umpqua,and Siuslaw

Paiute (UT)

Snoqualmie

Fallon Paiute-Shoshone (Colony)

Las Vegas

Yomba

Crow

Turtle MountainTurtle Mountain

Turtle Mountain

TurtleMountain Turtle

Mountain

TurtleMountain

Turtle Mountain

Rosebud

Rosebud

Huron Potawatomi

Lac VieuxDesert

Match-e-be-nash-she-wishBand of Pottawatomi

Grand Traverse

Grand Traverse

LittleRiver

LittleTraverse

Bay

Pokagon

Sault SainteMarie Sault Sainte Marie

Sault Sainte Marie

ForestCounty

Potawatomi

Ho-Chunk Nation

Ho-Chunk Nation

MinnesotaChippewa

Minnesota Chippewa

Red Lake

San Felipe/Santa Ana

San Felipe/Santo Domingo

Lytton

Paskenta

Resighini

Auburn

Karuk

Timbi-Sha Shoshone

Timbi-Sha Shoshone

Viejas

Samish

Cayuga Nation

Mechoopda

Ione Band of Miwok

Adais Caddo

Apache Choctaw

Cher-O-Creek

FourWinds

Cherokee

Lumbee

Pee Dee

Star Muskogee Creek

United Houma Nation

Wassamasaw

Cherokee Tribeof Northeast Alabama

Chickahominy

CliftonChoctaw

MaChisLower Creek

Meherrin

NanticokeIndianTribe

NanticokeLenni Lenape

Santee

EchotaCherokee

EchotaCherokee

Haliwa-Saponi

Occaneechi-Saponi

United CherokeeAni-Yun-Wiya

Nation

WaccamawSiouan

Coharie

Beaver Creek

Sappony

Upper South CarolinaPee Dee

Coharie

Eastern Chickahominy

LenapeIndian Tribeof Delaware

Waccamaw

RamapoughPoospatuck

Shinnecock

MattaponiPamunkey

Golden HillPaugussett

Paucatuck Eastern Pequot

Tama

Hassanamisco

MOWAChoctaw

Schaghticoke

ALABAMA

ARIZONA

ARKANSAS

CALIFORNIA

COLORADO

CONNECTICUT

DELAWARE

DISTRICT OFCOLUMBIA

FLORIDA

GEORGIA

IDAHO

ILLINOIS INDIANA

IOWA

KANSAS

KENTUCKY

LOUISIANA

MAINE

MARYLAND

MASSACHUSETTS

MICHIGAN

MINNESOTA

MISSISSIPPI

MISSOURI

MONTANA

NEBRASKA

NEVADA

NEWHAMPSHIRE

NEWJERSEY

NEW MEXICO

NEW YORK

NORTH CAROLINA

NORTH DAKOTA

OHIO

OKLAHOMA

OREGON

PENNSYLVANIA

RHODEISLAND

SOUTH CAROLINA

SOUTH DAKOTA

TENNESSEE

TEXAS

UTAH

VERMONT

VIRGINIA

WASHINGTON

WESTVIRGINIA

WISCONSIN

WYOMING Lak e

Mic

h ig a

n

Lake Huron

Lake Ontario

Lake Superior

MEXICO

CANADAPacificOcean

Atlantic Ocean

Gulf of Mexico

BeringStraits

ChugachCalista

Aleut

CookInlet

Koniag

NANA

Arctic Slope

Ahtna

Doyon

Sealaska

BristolBay

CANADA

RUSSIA

Arctic Ocean

Pacific Ocean

Gulf of Alaska

Bering Sea

AnnetteIsland

ALASKA

Pacific Ocean

HAWAII

Kilometers0 200 400

Miles0 200 400

0 50 100 150 200 Kilometers

Miles0 50 100 150 200

0 50 100 150 200 Kilometers

0 50 100 150 200 Miles

9

99

9

9

9

9

9

9 9

9

99

9

9

9

99 9

99

9

999

HopiZuni

Crow

Osage

Rosebud

Red LakeFlathead

Colville

Fort Peck

Blackfeet

San Carlos

Leech Lake

PineRidge

GilaRiver

WindRiver

Fort Apache

WhiteEarth

Navajo Nation

YakamaNation

StandingRock

CheyenneRiver

Turtle Mountain

Eastern Cherokee

MississippiChoctaw

Tohono O'odham Nation

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

AIANPopulation

Number of American Indians and Alaska Natives: 201025 Reservations with Largest AIAN Populations

Legend

NOTE: The boundaries and names shown on this map are those reported to the U.S. Census Bureauand are in effect as of January 1, 2010. The boundaries shown on this map are for Census Bureaustatistical data collection and tabulation purposes only; their depiction and designation forstatistical purposes do not constitute a determination of jurisdictional authority or rights ofownership or entitlement. The geographic areas shown on this map are simpli�ied and may bedisplayed as point locations due to map scale limitations.

Santee State Designated Tribal Statistical Area

Kickapoo Oklahoma Tribal Statistical AreaSamish Tribal Designated Statistical Area

Alaska Native Regional CorporationAleut

American Indian Reservation (State)Pamunkey

International Boundary State Boundary

American Indian Reservation and/or Off-ReservationTrust Land (Federal)

AnnetteIsland

American Indians andAlaska Natives

in the United States

ColumbiaRiver

Green

River

Colorado

River

RioGrande

ArkansasRiver

Snake

River

Missouri

River

Yell owstoneRiver

Red River

Brazos River

Rio Grande

Rive

r

Missouri

River

Mississippi

River

Ohio

River

River

Sus

queh

anna R

iver

Tenne

ssee

Miss

issipp

i

LakeChamplain

Lake St.Clair

LakePontchartrain

LakeOkeechobee

LakeWinnebago

GreatSaltLake

Lake Erie

Ten Largest Tribal Grouping Populations: 2010

Cherokee

Navajo

Choctaw

Mexican AmericanIndian

Chippewa

Sioux

Apache

Blackfeet

Creek

Iroquois

Alone includes individuals who reported one or more tribes within a single tribal grouping.In Any Combination includes individuals who reported one or more races and/or detailed tribal groupings.

Total: 81,002

Total: 88,332

78,025 Total: 105,304

63,193 Total: 111,810

112,176 57,934 Total: 170,110

112,757 57,985 Total: 170,742

121,221 54,273 Total: 175,494

103,910 91,854 Total: 195,764

286,731 Total: 332,129

284,247 534,858

Total: 819,105

40,432

39,980

48,617

45,398

40,570

48,352

27,279

In Any Combination

Alone

Percent Distribution of the American Indian and Alaska Native Populationby American Indian/Alaska Native Area of Residence: 2010

American Indian andAlaska Native alone

or in combination5.2 million

American Indian andAlaska Native alone

2.9 million

American Indian andAlaska Nativein combination

2.3 million

*Includes federal American Indian reservations and/or off-reservation trust lands, Oklahoma tribal statistical areas, tribal designated statistical areas, state American Indian reservations, and state designated tribal statistical areas.Note: Percentages may not sum to 100.0 due to rounding.

20.5 78.01.5

30.7 67.02.2

7.3 92.10.5

American Indian Areas* Alaska Native Village Statistical Areas Outside of American Indian/Alaska Native Areas

Percent ofPopulation

8.0 or more3.0 to 7.91.5 to 2.9Less than 1.5

American Indian or Alaska Native Alone or in Combinationas a Percent of County Population: 2010

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Economics and Statistics Administration U.S. Census Bureau Prepared by Geography Division

For more information about the U.S. Census Bureau,American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) areas and statistics,please visit www.census.gov and fact�inder2.census.gov.For information on AIAN tribal groupings, see Appendix B in the2010 Census Summary File 1 - Technical Documentation atwww.census.gov/prod/cen2010/doc/sf1.pdf.Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census RedistrictingData (Public Law 94-171) Summary File, Table P1 and2010 Census Summary File 1.

What is Indian Country?

Indian Country refers to the many self-governing Native American communities in the U.S., including Native American reservations and trust lands. Federally recognized tribes and the United States have a government-to-government relationship. They are able to make and enforce laws, determine membership, and license and regulate activities in their jurisdiction. Native Americans are also United States citizens and have the right to vote.

Where is Indian Country?

There are more than 87,000 square miles that make up Indian Country—an area roughly the size of Great Britain if taken together. In reality, this area is spread across 326 Indian lands, including reservations, rancherias, pueblos and villages. The largest is the more than 26,000 square mile Navajo Nation Reservation, spread across three states in the Southwest, and the smallest is a 1.3 acre parcel in California where the Pit River Tribe’s cemetery is located. Many smaller reservations are less than 1000 acres (approx. 1.5 square miles) in size. Some reservations represent tribes’ ancestral lands while others were created by the federal governments to forcibly resettle Native Americans away from their homelands. Not all federally recognized tribes have a reservation.

Do Native Americans share a common language?

English is the common language of Indian Country, spoken at home, schools and work. However, American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians come from many different cultures with their own languages, passed down through oral tradition over thousands of years. Hundreds of languages were once spoken among indigenous people of North America. Today, about 200 of these languages are spoken but many just have a handful of speakers. There are many tribes working to revitalize their languages and increase the number of speakers among their members.

What is there to do in Indian Country besides gambling?

About a third of federally recognized Native American tribes have gaming operations but there is much more to experience in Indian Country. Come meet the people behind the adobe dwellings of the Southwest, the buffalo herds of the Northern Plains, the exquisitely carved totems of Alaska, and all of Indian Country in between. Native American geography and heritage is diverse and very much alive, offering visitors a multitude of authentic experiences grounded in history. While many tribes continue to face economic hardships as a result of historical injustices, Native Americans are proud people with many stories to tell.

Can I visit any reservation?

Many reservations welcome visitors and have recreational, historical and cultural sites and events to share with the public. All of the attractions, activities, and lodgings listed on NativeAmerica.Travel are open to the public. There are other tribes that prefer not to have tourists, or require that visitors register at a tribal office. When in doubt, call ahead to the tribal government office to understand if and where visitors are welcome. When visiting any reservation, you are considered a guest and should respect the privacy of the residents and adhere to the tribe’s laws.

What else should I know before I go?

Native Americans live like you and I and with few exceptions, they do not live in traditional dwellings or wear traditional regalia outside of celebrations or ceremonies. Most are happy to share information about their culture if asked respectfully. There are some reservations that do not allow alcohol or have restrictions on photography– it is always a good idea to ask about the local laws beforehand. Although local customs vary, dressing modestly, listening when elders are speaking, and leaving artifacts where they lie will help ensure that you are not disrespecting the local norms.

What is AIANTA?

The American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association (AIANTA) is a national 501(c3) non-profit association of tribes, tribal businesses, educators and entrepreneurs who promote leadership in education, training and technical assistance for Indian Country tourism.