chapter 6 byt Jesus Saenz

This chapter talks about what characteristics do the Native Americans in Minnesota have. The BIA says that you need one fourth Indian ancestry or membership in a federally recognized tribe. However Native American medicine man Jimmy Jackson says” if you have one drop of Indian blood, the spirits will accept you and hear you prayers.” The 2000 census counted 54,967 Indians in Minnesota who identify themselves just Native Americans, that is 1.1 % of the total Minnesota state population. The percent hasn’t changed since the 1990 census. This chapter also states an interesting face that the twin cities Minneapolis area ranked 7th in the number of Indians there. Native Americans young population is a median age of 26.3 compared to the state average of 35.4 years of age. There are 6.5% elders which compared to the general population is 15%. The income of a Native American in Minnesota is low. 28% fall below the poverty line. The death rates are 305 times higher as well. 74% of Native Americans have a high school degree a rise from the 1990. 32% of Native Americans live in the Twins Cities and only 23% live on the reservation. However Indian services in the Twin Cities are helping a lot with programs like Indian social services and safe houses for chemically dependent men. The chapter also talks about the Indian advocacy organization call AIM which has been called to help in many situations.
The chapter raises the question of why does the BIA decide who is a Native American. It was a good chapter to read because it shows that there are people and programs out there that are really reaching out to help.
sources are my book and class discussion. American Indians in Minnesota