The North American Indians
The Indians of North America, it is claimed, are not decreasing, but they are slowly mingling with other races and being absorbed by them. We are indebted to the Christian Advocate of September 11, for the following facts regarding this interesting people:— There are said to be in the United States 280 Indian tribes, of which about 77 have more than 500 members each. The largest tribe is the Cherokee, which has more than 31,000. The next largest tribe is the Navajos, with upward of 22,000; then the Chippewa, with about 20,000; then the Choctaw, with nearly 16,000; then the Teton Sioux, with over 14,000. Oklahoma contains more than one fourth of all the Indians in the United States. There are seven other States which have more than 10,000 Indians apiece, but these, with the exception of Wisconsin, are west of the Mississippi. There are Indians in every State in the Union, but less than fifty are accorded to each of four States—Delaware, New Hampshire, Vermont, and West Virginia. While the Indians are not actually disappearing, the proportionate increase of half-breeds is considerably larger than the increase of full-blooded Indians. The total number of Indians in the United States as given by the late census is 265,683, with 25,331 more in Alaska. Fifty-six and one-half per cent of all the Indians in the United States are full-blooded, while a little over thirty-five per cent are of mixed blood. Reliable information concerning eight and one-half per cent could not be obtained.