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anchorage, alaska

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FIRST ALASKANS INSTITUTE

First Alaskans Institute helps develop the capacities of Alaska Native people and their communities to meet the social, economic and educational challenges of the future, while fostering positive relationships among all segments of our society. The Institute does this through community engagement, information and research, collaboration, and leadership development. First Alaskans is a non-profit charitable organization whose purpose is to advance Alaska Natives.

MISSION

True to identity, heritage, and values, Alaska Natives are informed and engaged in leading the decisions that shape the future.

 
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Alaska’s Native American Community Profile

Total AK population 710,231

  • White alone 473,576 (66.7% of AK pop.)

  • AI/AN alone 104,871 (14.8% of AK pop.)

  • All other single race minorities combined 79,909   (11.2% of AK pop.)

  • AI/AN alone or in combination with some other race 138,312 (19.5% of AK pop.)

  • AI/AN alone or in any combination, 18+ years old 88,353   (16.9% of AK pop.)

  • Total multi-racial pop. in AK 51,875

  • Total multi-racial pop. who are some part AI/AN 33,441

  • Total 2-race pop. who are White & AI/AN 26,127

  • People of Hispanic / Latino origin who are AI/AN alone 2,315     (0.3% of AK pop.)

Many sources report that AI/AN people make up just 15% of the State population, but doing so disenfranchises more than 33,000 multi-racial Natives.  When FAI reports the Native population, we use the 19.5% (or 20%) figure, as it’s the most inclusive view of our peoples; AI/ANs are 17% of the voting age population in Alaska.

American Indians & Alaska Natives are the largest minority in Alaska, larger than combined population of all other minorities in Alaska.  In fact, although there are states with higher populations of AI/AN people, Alaska has the highest percentage of AI/AN people, both alone and in any combination, of any State in the U.S. (can be manually calculated using data in the link provided).  Anchorage has the highest percent of AI/AN people of any city in the U.S. with 100,000+ people, both for AI/AN alone (7.9%), and alone and in any combination (12.4%).

Alaska Natives (alone or in any combination) are a young, growing population:

                                                                     Alaska Natives         Alaskawide           Nationwide

  • Population younger than 25                            49%                             37%                       34%

  • Younger than 20                                               40%                             29%                       27%

  • Median age                                                       25. 7                            33.8                       37.2

  • Average household size                                   3.07                             2.65                        2.58

  • Average family size                                           3.66                            3.21                         3.14

 American Indians in Alaska

The full Census category is “American Indians & Alaska Natives” or AI/AN, but it is sometimes clearer to shorten the name to “Alaska Natives” because, although we value & cherish American Indians living in Alaska (which includes Central & South American Indians), they comprise a very small share of our total population.  For example, a Census report on the AI/AN population based on the 2007-2011 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimate broke down the AI/AN population in Alaska by tribe.  The ACS estimated only 4,903 (± 599) of 97,628 (± 1,803) AI/AN people in Alaska self-identified as American Indians, implying Indians make up approximately 5% of the AI/AN population, and less than 1% of the State population.  Although that Census report doesn’t specify, the figure cited appears to represent the ‘AI/AN alone’ estimate, which the full 2007-2011 ACS 5-Year Estimate indeed reported as 97,628 (± 1,803).  The full ACS report estimated the ‘AI/AN alone or in combination’ population to be 135,379 (± 830), comparable to the 2010 Census count of 138,312.[1]