NEWS BRIEF By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
ONE FEATHER STAFF
There were over 6.3 million American Indian/Alaska Natives in the United States in 2011 according to a U.S. Census report released on Thursday, May 17. That number is up 2.1 percent from the last numbers released in 2010.
According to the report, California had the highest number of American Indians with around 1,050,000 and Alaska had the highest percent at 19.6 percent.
Los Angeles county had the highest number of American Indians in the country with around 231,000 and Shannon County (SD), home to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, had the highest percent at 93.6 percent.
One startling fact to come out of Thursday’s report was “estimates showing that 50.4 percent of our nation’s population younger than age 1 were minorities as of July 2, 2011. This is up from 49.5 percent from the 2010 Census taken April 1, 2010.”
Other interesting facts from the report include:
– nation’s median age increased from 37.2 to 37.3
– population of Americans 65 and older increased from 40.3 million to 41.4 million
– Maine had the highest median age at 43.2
– Utah had the lowest median age at 29.5
– Hispanics were the most populous minority with over 52 million, also the fastest growing population which increased 3.1 percent since 2010
