American Indians in Wisconsin - Overview

American Indian and Alaska Native refer to persons having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America, including Central America, and who maintain tribal affiliation or community attachment.¹

As of 2008, an estimated 4.9 million people in the United States were classified as American Indian and Alaska Native alone or American Indian and Alaska Native in combination with one or more other races.² This racial group comprises 1.6 percent of the total U.S. population.³ American Indians/Alaska Natives frequently contend with issues that prevent them from receiving high-quality medical care.⁴  Issues include cultural barriers, geographic isolation, inadequate sewage disposal, and low income.⁵

As of the 2010 U.S. Census, 22 percent of American Indians and Alaska Natives live on reservations or other trust lands.⁶ Sixty percent of American Indians and Alaska Natives live in metropolitan areas; this is the lowest metropolitan percentage of any racial group.⁷ About 1.5 million American Indians and Alaska Natives are under the age of 18, making up 30 percent of this population. Among American Indians and Alaska Natives age 25 and over, 82 percent have earned at least a high school diploma and 17 percent have earned at least a bachelor's degree.⁸ Additionally, 6 percent of American Indians and Alaska Natives age 25 and over have at least an advanced graduate degree.⁹ In 2012, 47.5 percent of American Indians and Alaska Natives had private health insurance coverage, 38.1 percent relied on Medicaid coverage, and 22.6 percent had no health insurance coverage.¹⁰ Among this racial group, 26 percent live at the poverty level.¹¹

Wisconsin Population

American Indians comprise almost 100% of the American Indian and Alaska Native population in Wisconsin; the 2000 Census counted 225 people in Wisconsin (0.01%) who identified as Alaska Native.¹² Wisconsin's American Indian population totaled 53,358 in 2008, which was 0.9% of the state total of 5,672,297¹³. By 2008, the American Indian population had increased 12.6% since the 2000 Census.¹⁴

Wisconsin is home to 11 federally recognized tribes: Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Ho-Chunk Nation, Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin, Oneida Nation, Forest County Potawatomi, Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, St. Croix Chippewa, Sokaogon Chippewa (Mole Lake), and Stockbridge-Munsee,¹⁵ in addition to other, non-federally-recognized tribes. Each tribe maintains a government-to-government relationship with the State of Wisconsin. Also, each tribe has its own unique peoples, languages, and spiritual and health practices, as do all the more than 500 federally recognized American Indian tribes.

As of 2008, the distribution of American Indian populations in Wisconsin included over 60 percent in the counties of Milwaukee, Brown, Menominee, Shawano, Sawyer, Outagamie, Vilas, Dane, Ashland, and Bayfield.¹⁶ About 45 percent of Wisconsin's American Indian population resided in metropolitan areas; 13.7 percent, or 7,313 people, resided in Milwaukee County.¹⁷

History

Health Facts

Additional Information

Back to Minority Populations in Wisconsin

Citations:

1. Wisconsin Minority Health Report, 2001-2005 P-45716 (PDF, 897 KB)
2. http://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=3&lvlid=62
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid.
10. Ibid.
11. Ibid.
12. Wisconsin Minority Health Report, 2001-2005
13. Minority Health Profiles, created by the Minority Health Program
14. Wisconsin Minority Health Report, 2001-2005
15. Ibid.
16. Minority Health Profiles, created by the Minority Health Program
17. Ibid.

Additional Information about American Indians in Wisconsin

• More recent health-related information on the American Indian population in Wisconsin is available from an interactive data query system, Wisconsin Interactive Statistics on Health (WISH), on the Wisconsin Department of Health Services site.
• A synopsis of health-related findings about American Indians  in Wisconsin can be found in the Department's Wisconsin Minority Health Report, 2001-2005 P-45716 (PDF, 897 KB).

Related links

• Wisconsin Historical Society
• University of Wisconsin at Madison, American Indian Studies
• Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council (GLITC)
• Department of Health Services Tribal Affairs Office
• Collaborative Center for Health Equity
• U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program

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