Urban Indians
Urban Indians refer to Native Americans who reside in metropolitan areas, with over half of the U.S. Native American population living in cities for most or all of the year. This group often goes unnoticed by other ethnic communities, as many outside of Indigenous cultures may struggle to reconcile the image of Native Americans with urban, modern settings. Historically, the relocation of Native Americans to cities began in the 1950s with government programs aimed at encouraging urban living, though many faced challenges in adjusting to city life and often returned to reservations.
Urban Indigenous populations are diverse, with some migrating for employment, education, or familial ties, while others may move seasonally between cities and reservations. The increasing identification of urban Native Americans has been significant; for instance, the 2000 census revealed a notable rise in individuals identifying as Native American or Alaska Native, highlighting a demographic shift away from reservations. However, social conditions for urban Indians often lag behind those of the general population, with higher rates of poverty, unemployment, and homelessness compared to national averages. Understanding the experiences and challenges faced by Urban Indians is crucial for addressing their unique needs within urban environments.
Urban Indians
SIGNIFICANCE: More than half of the US Native American population resides in a metropolitan area for most or all of the year; in many cities, urban Indians go unnoticed by other ethnic groups.
The term “urban Indians” is problematic for most non-Native Americans. Whether thinking of Native Americans brings forth positive, negative, or neutral images, many members of other ethnic groups do not imagine Indians as members of an urban, technological society, and this lack of urban image has led to a blindness regarding the presence and needs of Indigenous Americans in cities. Identification of the urban Native American has therefore been one of the central problems surrounding government policy regarding American Indians since the early 1960s.
Relocation and Migration
All members of a federally recognized tribe in the United States, according to the US Constitution, are due certain benefits and services, by right of their heritage. This unique legal relationship with the US government was never meant to end once an individual moved to a metropolitan area, but in effect, that is what has happened. In the mid-1950s, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), in accord with Congress, began the Voluntary Relocation Program. BIA officers on each reservation were instructed to “sell” the idea of city living to likely candidates. Individuals, and sometimes families, were given a one-way ticket to the chosen city, where housing and employment awaited, all arranged by the BIA. Subsistence money was guaranteed for six weeks, after which these newest immigrants were on their own.
Most Indigenous Americans who arrived in cities under the relocation program left as soon as they got a good look at their new way of life. Many of the offered jobs were unskilled, and Native Americans found they were able to afford only the worst housing available in the city. Under these conditions, transition to city dwelling was, for many, impossible. Yet the BIA did not recognize the shortcomings of its multimillion-dollar program and continued to relocate as many Native Americans as possible. Noticing that many of their clients were returning to their reservations, the BIA began relocating people as far away from their reservations as could be managed, to make it as difficult as possible to return. Part of the plan was to terminate the reservations eventually. The Voluntary Relocation Program was a failure according to its own goals. This program was based on the prejudiced notion that Native American culture and lifeways would, and should, disappear. The BIA and the US Congress of the 1950s counted on America’s cities to speed that process.
Most Native Americans living in urban areas did not arrive through the relocation program but migrated independently, usually looking for employment, and settled near relatives or friends from their reservation or hometown. Many are permanent residents, but an approximately equal number are transient—relocating within the city, going from city to city, or spending part of the year in the city and part on the reservation. There is no known “typical” pattern of migration; tribal nations, families, and individuals differ according to their needs. A family may live in the city during the winter so the children can stay in school, then leave for the reservation in the summer. Construction workers are often busy in the cities during the warm months and leave in the winter. The powwow season and harvests also draw many urban Native Americans back to the reservations. The frequent moving to and from reservations and within the city is one factor in the invisibility of and difficulty in quantifying urban Indians.
Urban Indian Identity
Another factor complicating the urban presence of Indians has been the reluctance of some urban residents to identify themselves as Native Americans to non-Native Americans in the city. The urban Native Americans’ attempts to remain unidentified, coupled with the tremendous mobility of individuals and families, have made it impossible in past years for the US census to come close to an accurate count in the cities. In the 1990 US census, however, there was a huge increase in people identifying themselves as Native Americans or Alaska Natives. According to a 2008 report by the National Urban Indian Family Coalition (NUIFC), by 2000 the total number of people identifying as American Indian or Alaska Native reached 4.3 million, with 61 percent living somewhere other than a reservation or other Indigenous land. This illustrated a clear population shift, as only 38 percent lived off of reservations in 1970. The 2010 census saw the trend increase, with 78 percent of Native Americans and Alaska Natives living outside tribal areas. Still, the issues with defining "urban Indians" made accurate quantitative studies difficult. A decade later, around 70 percent of Native Americans and Alaska Natives continued living outside their Nation’s area.
According to the 2010 census, a handful of cities had the largest populations of Native Americans and Alaska Natives. New York City had the largest, with 111,749 people, followed by Los Angeles, California; Phoenix, Arizona; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Anchorage, Alaska. Indigenous Americans have arrived in cities all over the United States for many reasons; work opportunities and education are the most commonly cited. Some cities, such as Chicago, operate high-quality schools for Indigenous American children as further insurance against losing traditions and ways of thinking. However, according to NUIFC, social conditions for urban Indians lag behind the general population, and sometimes even behind those of Indians on reservations. For example, in 2008 urban Indians' poverty rate was just over 20 percent, while the national urban poverty rate average was 12.7 percent. This trend continued in the 2019 census, with poverty rates among Indigenous Americans living in rural areas reaching 29.6 percent. Those living in urban areas had a poverty rate of 19.4 percent, compared to around 8 percent for White individuals. Urban Indians also faced higher rates of child abuse, homelessness, unemployment, and alcohol-related deaths.
Bibliography
Calloway, Colin G. “The Chiefs Now in This City”: Indians and the Urban Frontier in Early America. Oxford UP, 2021.
"Data Show U.S. Poverty Rates in 2019 Higher in Rural Areas Than in Urban for Racial/Ethnic Groups." Economic Research Service, Aug. 2021, www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/gallery/chart-detail/?chartId=101903. Accessed 20 Oct. 2024.
Fixico, Donald Lee. The Urban Indian Experience in America. U of New Mexico P, 2000.
Flynn, Jack. "National Urban Indian Family Coalition." National Voter Registration Day, 6 Sept. 2024, nationalvoterregistrationday.org/nuifc. Accessed 20 Oct. 2024.
National Urban Indian Family Coalition. Urban Indian America: The Staus of American Indian & Alaska Native Children & Families Today. Natl. Seattle: Urban Indian Family Coalition, 2008. Annie E. Casey Foundation.
Schwartzkopf, Sarah. "Top 5 Cities with the Most Native Americans." Indian Country Today Media Network, 29 July 2013, ictnews.org/archive/top-5-cities-with-the-most-native-americans. Accessed 20 Oct. 2024.
"2010 Census Shows Nearly Half of American Indians and Alaska Natives Report Multiple Races." US Census Bureau, Dept. of Commerce, 25 Jan. 2012, 2010-2014.commerce.gov/blog/2012/01/26/2010-census-shows-nearly-half-american-indians-and-alaska-natives-report-multiple-ra.html. Accessed 20 Oct. 2024.