A report released Nov. 25 by the UCLA Ralph and Goldy Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies indicates that Los Angeles County is home to the largest urbanized American Indian community in the country.

Analysis of recently released census data reveals that American Indians in Los Angeles County are disproportionately concentrated in low-income communities and remain disadvantaged by low educational attainment, poor employment outcomes and higher poverty rates.

“American Indians in Los Angeles County face multiple socioeconomic challenges,� said Dr. Paul Ong, director of the UCLA Ralph and Goldy Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies and co-author of the report, which uses recent census and enrollment information to profile the socioeconomic characteristics and geographic distribution of American Indians in the county. “The dispersed residential pattern of American Indians in the county presents a sizeable barrier to providing services to the community,� Ong said.

The report, titled “Socioeconomic Characteristics of American Indians in Los Angeles County,� was conducted by researchers from the Lewis Center, in partnership with the United American Indian Involvement Inc. of Los Angeles.

Findings indicate that the American Indian population in the county grew over the last half century to more than 135,800 and comprised approximately 1.4 percent of the overall population in 2000.

American Indians remain highly dispersed among other racial groups within the county. Unlike other minority groups such as Latinos or African Americans who comprise a majority in some neighborhoods, there are no areas where American Indians comprise a majority. This dispersed residential pattern presents a sizeable barrier to providing services to the American Indian community. Traditional place-based strategies such as neighborhood-based community development, education and outreach are less effective, given the dispersed client base.

The American Indian community in Los Angeles County remains disadvantaged, especially when compared to the non-Hispanic white population:

Two out of five American Indians did not complete high school, compared to one out of 10 non-Hispanic whites.

The unemployment rate among American Indians is nearly twice as high as the rate for non-Hispanic whites.

American Indian men earned 45 percent less than non-Hispanic white men, while American Indian women earned 31 percent less than non-Hispanic white women.

The poverty rate among American Indians is more than 2.5 times the rate among non-Hispanic whites.



The full report is available on the Web site of the UCLA Ralph and Goldy Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies at www.sppsr.ucla.edu/lewis.