﻿THE 
  POPULATION 
  OF 
  ANCIENT 
  AMERICA^ 
  

  

  By 
  H. 
  J. 
  Spinden 
  

   Peabody 
  Museum, 
  Harvard 
  University 
  

  

  [With 
  1 
  plate] 
  

  

  What 
  is 
  the 
  Indian 
  population 
  in 
  America 
  to-day, 
  and 
  is 
  it 
  in- 
  

   creasing 
  or 
  decreasing? 
  Was 
  it 
  as 
  large 
  in 
  1492 
  as 
  it 
  is 
  now 
  or 
  as 
  it 
  

   had 
  been 
  in 
  some 
  earlier 
  period 
  of 
  New 
  World 
  history? 
  These 
  

   questions 
  I 
  hope 
  to 
  answer 
  not 
  so 
  much 
  with 
  statistics 
  as 
  with 
  sug- 
  

   gestive 
  considerations. 
  Indeed, 
  exact 
  figures 
  are 
  not 
  available 
  even 
  

   for 
  the 
  proportion 
  of 
  Indian 
  blood 
  in 
  the 
  present 
  population 
  of 
  America 
  

   and 
  it 
  is 
  obvious 
  that 
  the 
  speculative 
  factor 
  must 
  become 
  larger 
  and 
  

   larger 
  as 
  we 
  pass 
  back 
  through 
  the 
  centuries. 
  

  

  PRESENT 
  INDIAN 
  POPULATION 
  

  

  The 
  present 
  Indian 
  population 
  in 
  the 
  New 
  World 
  is 
  much 
  larger 
  

   than 
  most 
  persons 
  might 
  imagine 
  from 
  their 
  knowledge 
  of 
  conditions 
  

   north 
  of 
  Mexico. 
  For 
  Greenland, 
  Canada, 
  Alaska, 
  and 
  the 
  United 
  

   States 
  the 
  number 
  is 
  less 
  than 
  400,000, 
  with 
  considerable 
  admixture 
  

   of 
  foreign 
  blood 
  for 
  which 
  a 
  proportional 
  discount 
  must 
  be 
  made. 
  

   For 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  the 
  most 
  reliable 
  count 
  of 
  Indians 
  was 
  the 
  

   census 
  of 
  1910, 
  which 
  found 
  265,683 
  individuals. 
  Of 
  this 
  number 
  

   150,053 
  were 
  full 
  bloods, 
  and 
  the 
  others 
  mixed 
  bloods 
  with 
  a 
  distinct 
  

   leaning 
  toward 
  white. 
  The 
  census 
  of 
  1920 
  showed 
  a 
  reduction 
  of 
  

   21,246 
  from 
  the 
  figures 
  for 
  the 
  preceding 
  decade. 
  The 
  counts 
  made 
  

   by 
  the 
  Bureau 
  of 
  Indian 
  Affairs 
  differ 
  widely 
  from 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  general 
  

   census, 
  since 
  in 
  some 
  cases 
  persons 
  with 
  one 
  sLxty-fourth 
  part 
  Indian 
  

   blood 
  are 
  called 
  Indians. 
  Also 
  the 
  tribal 
  rolls 
  used 
  by 
  the 
  bureau, 
  

   in 
  spite 
  of 
  various 
  purgings, 
  carry 
  a 
  large 
  number 
  of 
  negro 
  "freed- 
  

   men" 
  who 
  may 
  or 
  may 
  not 
  have 
  old 
  American 
  blood. 
  For 
  1920 
  the 
  

   aboriginal 
  population 
  according 
  to 
  the 
  bureau 
  was 
  336,379, 
  or 
  91,942 
  

   in 
  excess 
  of 
  the 
  census 
  of 
  that 
  year. 
  Fluctuations, 
  explained 
  mainly 
  

   by 
  reorganization 
  of 
  the 
  rolls, 
  are 
  apparent 
  in 
  the 
  following 
  totals 
  

   for 
  different 
  years 
  : 
  

  

  1870 
  313, 
  712 
  

  

  1877 
  276, 
  540 
  

  

  1885 
  344, 
  064 
  

  

  1 
  Reprinted 
  by 
  permission 
  from 
  The 
  Geographical 
  Review, 
  vol. 
  18, 
  No. 
  4, 
  1928. 
  

  

  82322—30 
  30 
  451 
  

  

  1887 
  243, 
  299 
  

  

  1900 
  270, 
  540 
  

  

  1926 
  349, 
  964 
  

  

  