Age and Location

Like other communities of color, the American Indian population is a young population. In 1990, the census counted 49,909 American Indians, Aleuts and Inuits in Minnesota, and 20,491 (41.1%) were children under the age of 18. (The census counted 49,392 American Indians, 235 Eskimos (Inuit) and 282 Aleuts. For convenience, we use the term "American Indian" in this report, even though the data are based on all three groups.) In the American Indian community there are seven children for every elder 60 years old or older, while among whites there are only 1.5 children for every elder.

More than half of American Indian children live in Greater Minnesota, outside the seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan area. Over one quarter live in Minneapolis.

Table 1: Population of American Indian Children in 1990, by Region
Minneapolis	5,303	25.9%
St. Paul	1,429	7.0%
Metro Area Suburbs	2,547	12.4%
Greater Minnesota	11,212	54.7%
Total	20,491	100.0%

Outside of the metropolitan area, many children live on reservations. The number of children counted by the census on each reservation was as follows:

Reservation	Number of American Indian Children
Red lake	1,627
Leech Lake	1,533
White Earth	1,176
Fond du Lac	520
Mille Lacs	177
Bois Forte (Nett Lake)	137
Lower Sioux Community	103
Grand Portage	68
Shakopee Community	60
Vermillion Lake	44
Prairie Island Community	19
Sandy Lake	15
Upper Sioux Community	13
MN Chippewa Trust Lands	9

Next Section

The Well-Being of American Indian Children in Minnesota: Economic Conditions, 1994