Estimating AIAN Migration on Indian Reservations in the Western United States

Gretchen Greene, Northwest Economic Associates
Jeri Sawyer, Northwest Economic Associates

This paper will examine migration patterns between 1990 and 2000 for Indians living on reservations. Several factors complicate this issue. First, in 1990, the census bureau estimates that AIAN populations living on reservations were undercounted at a rate of 12.2 percent nationwide. While census undercounts in 2000 improved, the multiracial question in Census 2000 further confuses the connection between 1990 and 2000 reservation populations. At the same time socio-cultural transitions, such as improving economic opportunities on reservations and a widespread renewal of interest in Indian heritage, mean that more and more people are moving onto reservations. This paper will estimate migration patterns between 1990 and 2000 for 12 Indian reservations in the Western United States and compare and contrast the results.