Dynamics of Race: Joining, Leaving, and Staying in the American Indian/Alaska Native Race Category between 2000 and 2010

Abstract

Each census for decades has seen the American Indian and Alaska Native population increase substantially more than expected. Changes in racial reporting seem to play an important role in the observed net increases, though research has been hampered by data limitations. We address previously unanswerable questions about race response change among American Indian and Alaska Natives (hereafter “American Indians”) using uniquely-suited (but not nationally representative) linked data from the 2000 and 2010 decennial censuses (N = 3.1 million) and the 2006-2010 American Community Survey (N = 188,131). To what extent do people change responses to include or exclude American Indian? How are people who change responses similar to or different from those who do not? How are people who join a group similar to or different from those who leave it? We find considerable race response change by people in our data, especially by multiple-race and/or Hispanic American Indians. This turnover is hidden in cross-sectional comparisons because people joining the group are similar in number and characteristics to those who leave the group. People in our data who changed their race response to add or drop American Indian differ from those who kept the same race response in 2000 and 2010 and from those who moved between a single-race and multiple-race American Indian response. Those who consistently reported American Indian (including those who added or dropped another race response) were relatively likely to report a tribe, live in an American Indian area, report American Indian ancestry, and live in the West. There are significant differences between those who joined and those who left a specific American Indian response group, but poor model fit indicates general similarity between joiners and leavers. Response changes should be considered when conceptualizing and operationalizing “the American Indian and Alaska Native population.”

An Outside View

“…For instance, conflict about who should "count" in the American Indian race category may result in mismatches between proxies and the household as well as relatively high levels within-person race response change among people in this group (see Liebler, Bhaskar, et al, 2014). The response match patterns we observe may relate to social norms about racial and ethnic identification.…”

“…People in these small race groups seem to have extensive experience with outsider misidentification as well as personal changes in identification and identity (e.g., Liebler, Bhaskar, et al, 2014;. People in these small race groups seem to have extensive experience with outsider misidentification as well as personal changes in identification and identity (e.g., Liebler, Bhaskar, et al, 2014;.…”

The digital reality

“…In the 2000 Census, changes were made to the survey allowing individuals to self-identify as multiple races (U.S. . The response change resulted in variability, from the 2000 to 2010 Census, in who selfidentified as American Indian and such implications should be considered when examining racial disparities, especially when relevant across time periods (Liebler, Bhaskar, & Rastogi, 2014). The lack of consistent data specific to AI/AN households decreases the ability to fully understand trends.…”

History, place, and racial self-representation in 21st century America

“…Based on this prior research, we expect that a person who reports white (or black) race and American Indian ancestry is less attached to their American Indian heritage than one who reports American Indian race and white (or black) ancestry. People who report multiple races may have a multiracial identity (Rockquemore and Brunsma 2002; Root 1990, 1996) but, as is true for all people, a point-in-time response does not necessarily indicate whether or when one of these race groups takes precedence in their life or their response choices at other times (Liebler, Bhaskar, and Rastogi 2014; Liebler et al 2014; Mowen and Stansfield 2015). …”

“…A person of white and American Indian heritage, for example, might identify as racially white, as racially American Indian, or as a person of two races. If he identifies as white, he is likely to experience the social world as a member of the white majority and he may be relatively unlikely to join an American Indian activist organization or social group, to know details of an American Indian culture or language, or to ever racially identify as American Indian (Liebler 2010a; Liebler, Bhaskar, and Rastogi 2014; Snipp 1989; Waters 1990). Conversely, a very different biography would unfold if he identified as a minority group member and were treated as such by society.…”