American Indian and Alaska Native History is Texas History.
American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) Texans are integral to the fabric of our state through their key contributions to our infrastructure, economy, and political sphere. This StoryMap explores historical and contemporary data on AI/AN Texans while highlighting the significance of disaggregating data into detailed race and ethnicity categories.
Census data indicates that Texas’ AI/AN population has grown over time. However, the reality is AI/AN people have historically been undercounted, or not counted at all. The first Census did not include AI/AN people, and it wasn’t until 1890 that Census officials made an effort to count all AI/AN people in the United States. To this day, barriers still exist in getting an accurate count.
It is also important to acknowledge that many AI/AN people were murdered or fled the state during the 1800s after Texas won its independence in 1836.
AI/AN Texans Are Diverse
As of 2023, there are an estimated 267,945 American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) Texans (who identified as one race), making up 1% of our state’s total population.
Additionally, an estimated 247,012 Texans identify as white and AI/AN (an additional 1% of the state’s population), and an estimated 46,607 Texans identify as Black and AI/AN (an additional 0.2% of the state’s population).
It is important to note, however, that surveys tend to undercount AI/AN Texans. The 2020 decennial Census undercounted AI/AN people living on reservations by about 6% nationally.
In 2022, an estimated 339,203 American Indian Texans identified with a specific tribe, and an estimated 72,333 did not.
Of American Indian Texans who identified with a tribe, an estimated:
- 86,585 identified as Cherokee
- 67,933 identified as Mexican American Indian
- 35,710 identified as Central American Indian
- 30,877 identified as Choctaw
In the same year, around 2,496 Alaska Native Texans identified with a specific tribe, and an estimated 981 did not.
AI/AN Texans play a key role in our state’s economy; however, many experience disparities in education, pay, and employment.
An estimated 19% of AI/AN Texans are experiencing poverty, which is more than twice the rate of non-Hispanic white Texans (8%). The poverty rate in Texas for all racial and ethnic groups is about 14%.
Data for the AI/AN population tend to have larger margins of error, resulting in wider confidence intervals. Even at the lowest point in the confidence interval, AI/AN Texans still experience poverty at a higher rate (16%) compared to the total population of all racial groups (13-14%), Asian Texans (8-10%), and non-Hispanic white Texans (8-9%).
At the highest point in the confidence interval, AI/AN Texans have the highest rate of people living in poverty at 22%.
All Texans deserve access to quality health care, yet many AI/AN Texans do not have access to adequate services.
In Texas, 22% of AI/AN people are uninsured, compared to 16% of all Texans and 9% of non-Hispanic white Texans. This is concerning, given that a lack of health insurance can lead to worse health outcomes. According to KFF, AI/AN people tend to have shorter life spans compared to other racial and ethnic groups – a gap that has widened since the pandemic.
AI/AN Texans deserve to feel safe in their communities. However, the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People (MMIWG2S) crisis reflects the disproportionate rates of violence, disappearance, and lack of justice harming Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit people. By examining safety data and trends, we aim to bring awareness to this critical issue and the urgent need to protect AI/AN women, girls, and Two-Spirit people.
More resources need to be allocated toward investigating missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit people. Homicide is the third-highest cause of death among AI/AN girls aged 15 to 19 and among AI/AN women aged 20 to 24. Homicide is the fourth-highest cause of death among AI/AN women aged 25 to 34. Overall, the murder rate of AI/AN women is nearly three times that of non-Hispanic white women.
Data Disaggregation
Texas must do better for AI/AN Texans, especially when it comes to inclusive and accurate data disaggregation. While data is directly tied to how much funding and support communities receive from government programs, AI/AN people continue to be undercounted by federal and state surveys. These undercounts have serious implications; the Department of Housing and Urban Development uses Census data to distribute about $650 million annually to more than 580 tribes through the Indian Housing Block Grant. When AI/AN communities are undercounted, they do not receive the dollars they deserve. It is crucial that data collection efforts evolve to be more inclusive and representative of the diverse identities and lived experiences of all Texans.
Policy recommendations developed by the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) Policy Research Center in collaboration with other civil rights organizations are available here.
Resources
AI/AN communities have a resilient and vibrant cultural heritage that has thrived for thousands of years and continues to inspire future generations. Through their advocacy, art, and traditions, AI/AN Texans contribute immeasurably to the cultural fabric of this state while fostering deep connections to the community. As they continue to innovate and preserve their cultural identity, AI/AN communities remain a powerful testament to the spirit of resilience, empowerment, and pride.
Community resources:
- Texas Native Health
- Office on Violence Against Women Resources
- Native American WIC Resource Page
- Texas Medicaid Unwinding: Information and Resources
- Learn more about programs that address the needs and aspirations of Indigenous communities in San Antonio via American Indians in Texas at the Spanish Colonial Missions.
Note on Data Collection, Survey Instruments, and Inclusion: Unless otherwise noted, data used in this StoryMap are from the U.S. Census Bureau 2023 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-Year Estimates. In cases where 2023 ACS were unavailable, 2022 ACS data was used. Data collection efforts across many survey instruments have yet to fully address the need to include the diverse identities of Texans. Therefore, the demographic breakdown provided in this StoryMap primarily reflects binary, cisgender sex-disaggregation of data. Such binary focus excludes important information about transgender and gender nonconforming populations. The categories of race and ethnicity utilized also do not adequately reflect the multiracial and multiethnic population of Texas. The way that many primary sources for data collect racial and ethnic data must evolve to be more inclusive and representative of the geographic, social, and cultural dimensions that define the concepts. We recognize that individuals may identify as American Indian, Native American, Alaska Native, Indigenous, or in another way. For more information, contact data@everytexan.org.