Software Used: Tableau

About this Map:

This map represents the nine state and federally recognized Native American Nations in New York State. On this map, I also include the language they speak and the total enrollment number for each tribe. The Tribal Enrollment Number was based on the tribe’s websites.

1. Cayuga Nation
2. Oneida Indian Nation
3. Onondaga Nation
4. Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe
5. Seneca Nation of Indians
6. Shinnecock Indian Nation
7. Tonawanda Seneca Nation
8. Tuscarora Nation
9. Unkechaug Indian Nation

Source: https://www.dec.ny.gov/public/974.html

Process

In recent years, I’ve been interested in learning about my roots and ancestor. When I received my DNA results from Ancestry DNA, I was excited to learn where my bloodline came from. I always knew I had indigenous DNA since I was born in Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico. However, when I read that I had 68% Native American DNA from Central Mexico and 1% Indigenous Americas—Panama & Costa Rica, I felt a new sense of pride and identity. In my family, we never spoke about being indigenous or Native American. However, we embraced our culture and heritage. In the same sense, I felt I had the duty and curiosity to learn more about the Native Americans living in New York State and the Americas.

“Difficult Heritage and the Complexities of Indigenous Data” by Guiliano, Jennifer, and Carolyn Heitman reminded me that we must honor our ancestors and accurately preserve their culture, heritage, and artifacts. The people who handle this data must abide by rules and regulations created by the tribes to keep its authenticity and accuracy. Therefore, I went to the tribe’s website instead of the Census when gathering this data. As I was searching on the internet, I came across the following article: American Indians and Alaska Natives Living on Reservations Have the Highest 2020 Census Undercount.

Challenges:

• I could not get the total enrollment for Onondaga Nation and Tuscarora Nations since it was not on their website.
• I did not know how to read the My Tribal Area website (United States Census Bureau), since the population included people not enrolled in the tribe. Based on the articles above, I don’t know if I can trust this website to represent tribal information.
• Lack of time to learn Tableau

Data

My Questions

Who decides that a Native American Nation is recognized (state and federally)?

Why is there limited information on Tribal Enrollment?

Why are some Nations hesitant to partake in the Census?

What other Nations are in NYS that are not state or federally recognized?

Why are tribes undercounted in the Census?