a233  1530  06 Feb 90
AM-Indians-Census,0374
Cherokees Largest Indian Tribe
Eds: For release 6:30 p.m. EDT
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID
Associated Press Writer
    WASHINGTON (AP) - Cherokees are the largest American Indian tribe,
Tlingits the richest and Navajos the poorest, the Census Bureau
reported Tuesday.
    Chickasaws registered the highest median age, 27.6 years, while the
best high-school graduation rate, 68.4 percent, was attained by the
Comanches, according to the bureau.
    The report on American Indians essentially completed the agency's
publications of 1980 census data - just two months before the 1990
census gets underway. Though data about Indians as a whole was
published previously, the tribal breakdown had to wait because of
budgetary constraints, the bureau said.
    The report said that members of the Blackfoot tribe have the highest
rate of labor force participation, while the top family income was
reported by the Tlingit tribe, many of whose members live and work in
Alaska, where salaries are routinely higher. The greatest poverty
rate was among the Navajo.
    Overall, the 1980 census counted 1,478,523 American Indians, with
Cherokees by far the largest tribe at 232,080.
    In second place were Navajos at 158,633, followed by Sioux, 78,608;
Chippewa, 73,602 and, Choctaw, 50,220.
    Rounding out the top 10 were the Pueblo, 42,552; Iroquois, 38,218;
Apache, 35,861; Lumbee, 28,631 and Creek, 28,278.
    Here are some comparitive statistics for various tribes, listing the
top 10 in each category:
    Median age (U.S. 30.0):
    Chickasaw, 27.6; Cherokee, 27.3; Choctaw, 26.1; Iroquois, 24.9;
Blackfoot, 24.6; Potawatomi, 24.5; Creek, 24.4; Comanche, 23.7;
Seminole, 23.5; Lumbee, 22.4.
    Percent high school graduates (U.S. 66.5):
    Comanche, 68.4; Kiowa, 68.1; Creek, 65.1; Potawatomi, 65.0; Tlingit,
64.7; Seminole, 64.4; Chickasaw, 63.0; Crow, 61.2; Cheyenne, 60.3;
Iroquois, 59.9.
    Labor force participation rate (U.S. 62.0):
    Blackfoot, 65.3; Potawatomi, 63.2; Seminole, 62.4; Cherokee, 61.7;
Iroquois, 61.4; Comanche, 61.3; Lumbee, 60.8; Creek, 60.7; Choctaw,
60.5; Chickasaw, 59.4; Tlingit, 59.4.
    Median Family Income (U.S. $19,917):
    Tlingit, $20,033; Chickasaw, $16,311; Potawatomi, $16,286; Comanche,
$15,662; Creek, $15,287; Iroquois, $15,079; Cherokee, $14,809;
Choctaw, $14,542; Blackfoot, $14,424; Kiowa, $14,051.
    Poverty rate (U.S. 12.4):
    Navajo, 45.5; Pima, 43.3; Papago, 42.1; Sioux, 38.8; Cheyenne, 34.7;
Apache, 34.1; Shohone, 32.3; Pueblo, 31.0; Athabaskan, 29.8;
Chippewa, 28.2.
    
 
AP-NY-02-06-90 1822EST
***************