NPR's Morning Edition -- The Changing Face of America

morning@npr.org

Who is Indian?

Listen to the report.

Peruse our list of links and resources.

(l to r) Norma Robertson, Lisa Bernal holding Shawn Canning, Jr. & Shawn Canning
For most Native Americans, the reservation is no longer home. Nearly two-thirds now live in cities and towns. It's a change that began nearly 50 years ago when a federal program urged American Indians in search of work to relocate to large metropolitan areas.

Generations after the first of their ancestors moved to the city, NPR's Cheryl Corley talked to urban Indians in Chicago to get an idea of the challenges they face today. While some have lost much of their Native American heritage, others have come full circle to re-adopt some of the traditional ways.

Native American Family
R.J. Smith, Netawn Kiogima
and their daughter Miigwaans Faith Smith

And the numbers of Native Americans are growing at a rate faster than most of the ethnic populations of the United States. By the year 2050, the Census Bureau predicts the U.S. will be home to more than 4 million Native Americans... most of them urban Indians.

Links & Resources

The American Indian Policy Center
www.airpi.org

NAES College (Native American Educational Services)
www.naes.indian.com

The American Indian Center in Chicago
www.aic-chicago.org

Indian Country Today
www.indiancountry.com

The Dept. of Labor's Bureau of Indian Affairs
www.doi.gov/bureau-indian-affairs.html

The Center for Multi-Lingual, Multicultural Research
www-rcf.usc.edu

The Changing Face of America is an 18-month long NPR project that tells the stories of regular, everyday Americans and the issues they face at a time of rapid and dramatic change in the U.S. This special series can be heard on NPR's Talk of the Nation, All Things Considered and Morning Edition.

The Changing Face of America series is sponsored by
The Pew Charitable Trusts.

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