For federal American Indian reservations, the Census Bureau contacts representatives of federally recognized American Indian tribal governments to identify the boundaries for federal reservations through its annual Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS). Federal reservations may cross state and all other area boundaries within the United States.

The ACS is self-response, which means that the Census Bureau does not assign American Indian or Alaska Native (AIAN) affiliation to respondents. Rather, respondents define their race and state their affiliated tribe.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) standard defines American Indian or Alaska Native for statistical purposes as “person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South (including Central America) who maintains tribal affiliation or tribal community attachment.” 

This includes people who: 

• Indicate their race as “American Indian or Alaska Native”, or
• Report the name of their enrolled or principal tribe, or
• Report the name of their Indian group.

Respondents who identify themselves as “American Indian or Alaska Native” are asked to report their enrolled or principal tribe. Therefore, tribal data in tabulations reflect the written entries reported on the questionnaires. The information on tribe is based on self-identification and therefore does not reflect any designation of federally or state-recognized tribe.

The American Community Survey uses three modes of data collection over a three-month period: paper questionnaires through the mail, an Internet response option, and personal visits with a Census Bureau interviewer.

Special procedures exist to increase the sampling rates for AIAN Areas:

• Reallocate the sample with the goal to produce more even quality across smaller geographic areas, including many American Indian and Alaska Native Areas
• Higher overall sample size
• Attempting a personal visit interview for all cases in most American Indian and Alaska Native Areas, compared to most areas of the country where we attempt to follow-up with only a sample of eligible cases

Support the:

• Civil Rights Act
• Home Mortgage Disclosure Act
• Indian Health Care Improvement Act
• Native American Programs Act
• Public Health Service Act
• Veterans Benefits Improvement Act
• Workforce Investment Act

Administer:

• Federal Affirmative Employment Plans
• Higher Education and Student Assistance Programs
• National Affordable Housing, Subchapter I
• Nutritional Education Program
• State Children's Health Insurance Program