Johnston] NAVAHO POPULATION 3 



BASIC CONCEPTS 



In undertaking an investigation of the demographic data pertaining 

 to the population of the Navaho, it is necessary at the outset to elabo- 

 rate upon the fundamental concepts of "Indian," "Indian tribe," and 

 "Indian population" which underlie much of the later analysis. The 

 ultimate source of many of the discrepancies in Indian population 

 data and other statistics on Indians can be found in the ambig-uities 

 inherent in these basic terms. 



To begin with, the concept "American Indian" is a racial one, hav- 

 ing reference to persons who belong or are related to the original 

 inhabitants of America and the West Indies. As such, the term is 

 subject to all of the difficulties and qualifications which generally 

 apply to racial categories. The fundamental difficulty with such terms 

 lies in the multiplicity of criteria whereby a given individual may be 

 included in a given racial group. The primary criterion for legtimate 

 inclusion in any racial category is, of course, biological. According 

 to this criterion, a person is an Indian if he is descended from Indian 

 stock. The practical application of this criterion, however, is subject 

 to basic difficulties. First, there is the question of what proportion of 

 a person's ancestry must be of Indian stock for the person in question 

 to be classified as an Indian. Secondly, there is the problem of 

 ascertaining the ancestry of many individuals for whom precise 

 genealogical information is lacking. Finally, there remains the funda- 

 mental objection that no measurable biological trait can be ascribed 

 universally and exclusively to any single racial group, unless that 

 group has been completely isolated from contact with other groups 

 over a long period of time. 



The problem of classifying individuals into given racial categories 

 is further complicated by the introduction of what might be termed 

 cultural considerations. Even if "race" must be defined without re- 

 gard to cultural factors, the fact remains that such factors are fre- 

 quently operative in the classification of individuals among different 

 racial groups as carried out in practice. Moreover, cultural associa- 

 tions may be more significant in the interpretation of social phenomena 

 than alleged (but frequently undetermined) biological characteristics. 

 According to a cultural criterion, a person might be designated an 

 Indian if he participates in an Indian culture or manifests typically 

 "Indian" values or attitudes in his behavior, manners, dress, etc. How- 

 ever, the application of a cultural criterion of racial membership is also 

 subject to serious practical difficulties. First, the nature and extent 

 of the cultural participation necessary to warrant inclusion of an 

 individual in the category "Indian" must be prescribed. Secondly, 

 some objective measures of such cultural participation must be devised 



