North Carolina Minority Health Facts: American Indians
State Center for Health Statistics and Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities July 201 0
The puipose of this report is to present basic health
facts about American Indians in North Carolina in
the areas of mortality, chronic diseases, HIV and
sexually transmitted diseases, health risk factors,
access to health care, quality of life, maternal and
infant health, and child and adolescent health. But
first we give some background information on the
American Indian population in the state.
Age and Geographic Characteristics of
American Indians in North Carolina
North Carolina has the largest American Indian
population east of the Mississippi River and the
sixth largest American Indian population in the
nation, according to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau
population estimates. According to the census, there
were 108,279 American Indian/Alaskan Native
residents of North Carolina in 2008. Although the
percentage of North Carolina’s population that is
American Indian has not changed since 1990, the
number has increased by nearly 40 percent since
1990 and by 9 percent since 2000. American Indians
now represent a little more than 1 percent of the
total population of the state.1
American Indians in North Carolina are younger
than the majority white population. According to
the 2008 American Community Survey, the median
age of the state’s American Indian population was
33.8 years, compared to 40.5 years for the white
population of North Carolina.2
Although American Indians live in each of North
Carolina’s 100 counties (see 2008 data on the map,
Figure 1), three- fourths of the population lives
in 12 counties, five of which are clustered in the
southeastern part of the state. Forty-five percent of
North Carolina’s American Indian population lives
in Robeson County (mostly Lumbee), accounting
for 38 percent of that county’s total population.
Seven percent of North Carolina’s American
Indians live in Jackson and Swain counties (mostly
Cherokee), accounting for nearly 15 percent of the
total population in these counties.1
Among the American Indian tribes in North Carolina
are eight state-recognized tribes: the Eastern Band
of Cherokee (who live primarily in Swain, Jackson,
and Graham counties), Coharie Tribe (Harnett,
Sampson), Haliwa Saponi Indian Tribe (Halifax,
Warren, Nash), Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina
(Robeson, Scotland, Hoke), Meherrin Indian Tribe
(Hertford, Bertie, Gates, Northampton), Occaneechi
Band of Saponi Nation (Orange, Alamance),
Sappony (Person), and Waccamaw-Siouan Tribe
(Columbus, Bladen). The Eastern Band of Cherokee
is a federally-recognized tribe, and the only tribe
served by the Indian Health Service of the United
States Public Health Service. These tribes are
referenced in Chapter 7 1 A of the North Carolina
General Statutes. The state-recognized tribes hold
membership on the North Carolina Commission
of Indian Affairs. The American Indian tribes in
Cumberland, Guilford, Johnston, Mecklenburg, and
Wake counties are represented through the following
associations or organizations: Cumberland County
Association for Indian People, Guilford Native
American Association, Metrolina Native American
Association, and the Triangle Native American
Society. In 1956, the United States Congress passed
