14 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 197 



results of equal reliability under all conditions of enumeration. Al- 

 though these procedures are developed with sufficient flexibility to 

 meet a wide range of enviromnental circumstances, the peculiar pattern 

 of population settlement on the Navajo Reservation area, combined 

 with a severely limited road network and important cultural dif- 

 ferences, undoubtedly limits the effectiveness of any enumeration 

 process. 



In the first place, the area to be covered is about 24,000 square 

 miles (roughly the size of the State of West Virginia) . The popula- 

 tion of this area is widely scattered, with an average density of only 

 about three persons per square mile. Within this area, the enumera- 

 tors are confronted with a peculiarly Navaho pattern of land settle- 

 ment. Although there are several regions of relatively high popula- 

 tion density within the reservation area, the familiar patterns of 

 town or village settlement are almost entirely lacking. Individual 

 dwellings or hogans, or small clusters of hogans, appear to be located 

 with little reference to the major road network. In order to locate 

 these small groups, it is necessary to investigate a bewildering maze 

 of wagon tracks, many of which lead nowhere or terminate at the site 

 of long-deserted hogans or temporary encampments. 



A further limitation to be recognized is related to the migratory 

 habits of the Navaho residents. As one experienced official has pointed 

 out, by the time the roads are sufficiently passable to permit an enu- 

 merator to approach the more isolated hogans, their residents are 

 very likely moving to a different location. In fact, many Navahos do 

 abandon their relatively permanent whiter hogans late in March, just 

 before the date of the decennial enumeration. 



Finally, some mention must be made of the peculiar problems in- 

 troduced by common practices of individual nomenclature among the 

 Navaho. A name given to an enumerator may or may not be the name 

 by which a given individual is known locally. Furthermore, it may 

 or may not correspond to the name used either by his parents or his 

 older children. Careful studies of individual families in the Ramah 

 community, for example, have revealed instances of individual Nava- 

 hos being listed under several names on as many administrative records. 

 Under these circumstances, the problems of verification and of avoiding 

 duplication approach insuperability. 



The second major source of information on Indian population is 

 the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Whereas the figures of the Bureau of 

 the Census are derived from decennial enumerations, those of the 

 former are derived from what amounts, in theory, to a continuous 

 registration system. Each Indian agency maintains a tribal roll or 

 register of the Indian population under its jurisdiction. The Bureau 

 of Indian Affairs' estimate of the total Indian population for a given 

 year is obtained by summing the figures reported by the several 



