15, 16 Discrepancies in education and employment are also found.
Census Bureau statistics reveal that 27% of American Indian and Alaska Native families with children live in poverty, whereas 32% of those with children younger than 5 years do-rates that are again more than double those of the general population and again are even higher in certain tribal communities (e.g., 66%). 12 American Indian and Alaska Native children and families are even more likely to live in poverty. 13 More than one-quarter of the American Indian and Alaska Native population is living in poverty, a rate that is more than double that of the general population and one that is even greater for certain tribal groups (e.g., approaching 40%). population, it is a young and growing population, with one-third of people younger than 18 years 12 and fertility rates that exceed those of other groups. 10 Third, we close by discussing the possibilities for early childhood intervention in light of both the challenges and the cultural strengths of American Indian and Alaska Native communities.ĭemographic Challenges: Poverty, Education, and EmploymentĪmerican Indian and Alaska Native people today represent roughly 1.5% of the total U.S. Second, we discuss the cultural strengths upon which American Indian and Alaska Native communities and children can draw in the face of such challenges, focusing on the role of extended family and child-rearing beliefs that can and should play an important role in intervention efforts. We focus first on the challenges faced by American Indian and Alaska Native populations and children, highlighting demographic, social, health, and health care disparities. 7 – 9 The literature on American Indian and Alaska Native children’s health has, however, shown some promising advances with the appearance of several studies based on recent data from both national and tribally specific samples we highlight here some of the emerging new directions for addressing the most persistent health disparities that affect American Indian and Alaska Native children. 3, 4 The literature on American Indian and Alaska Native children’s health is relatively small, oftentimes dated, and characterized by descriptive studies of small regional samples, 4 – 6 partly because of difficulties in sampling the small, isolated, diverse, and culturally distinct groups that form the American Indian and Alaska Native population. 2 Historically, our understanding of health disparities within the American Indian and Alaska Native population as a whole has been limited because of the lack of adequate data our understanding of the health disparities experienced by American Indian and Alaska Native children in particular has been especially so. Disparities in health have existed among American Indian and Alaska Native populations since the time of first contact 500 years ago, 1 and they continue to occur across a broad spectrum of disease categories and for all ages.