Page 32 - IJPS-11-1

International Journal of

Population Studies

RESEARCH ARTICLE
American Indian census rolls: An underutilized

source of historical demographic information on
tribal populations

Jeff Tayman * and David A. Swanson 2,3,4
1
1 Tayman Demographics, San Diego, California, United States of America
2 Population Research Center, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, United States of America
3 Centers for Studies in Demography and Ecology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington,
United States of America
4 Department of Sociology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, California, United States of
America

Abstract

Historical information on tribal populations in the United States is incomplete.
American Indians and Alaska Natives were not enumerated with the general population
until the 1940 decennial census. However, Indian Census Rolls were produced for the
period 1885 – 1940 under the auspices of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the U.S. The
information given in the Indian Census Rolls varies but usually includes the roll number,
age, gender, tribal identity, and relationship to the head of the family. In this paper,
*Corresponding author:
Jeff Tayman we present background information on Indian Census Rolls and demonstrate how
(jtaymn@san.rr.com) the digitized microfiche census roll schedules can be assembled into an Excel file. We
also provide examples of the potential uses of Indian Census Rolls. We conclude that
Citation: Tayman, J., &
Swanson, D.A. (2025). American Indian Census Rolls can not only help bridge the gaps in the historical demography
Indian census rolls: An underutilized of American Indians but also provide the basis for a clearer picture of the current and
source of historical demographic future demographic characteristics of American Indians.
information on tribal populations.
International Journal of Population
Studies, 11(1): 26-36.
https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.3906 Keywords: Indian Census Rolls; Historical Indian demographics; 1937 Lummi tribe
demographic profile; Excel reporting template
Received: June 11, 2024
Revised: September 20, 2024
Accepted: September 24, 2024 1. Introduction
Published Online: October 15,
2024 Historical information on tribal populations in the United States is scattered and
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s). discontinuous (NCAI Policy Research Center, 2021:2). American Indians and Alaska
This is an Open-Access article Natives (AIAN) were not always counted in the decennial census. It was not until 1850
distributed under the terms of the that counts of AIAN populations on reservations were provided by the Commission
Creative Commons Attribution
License, permitting distribution, of Indian Affairs to the Census Bureau (U.S. Census Bureau, 2021a). The 1890 census
and reproduction in any medium, was the first to attempt to count all American Indians; however, these records were lost
provided the original work is
properly cited. during a fire in 1921 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2021b). The loss of the 1890 records made the
1900 census seminal in terms of the information about American Indians it collected
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with because that information is still available (Johansson & Preston, 1978).
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional Under the U.S. Constitution (Article 1, Section 2), which specifies that a census be
affiliations. taken every 10 years, “Indians not Taxed” were excluded from the decennial count,

Volume 11 Issue 1 (2025) 26 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.3906