Johnstou] NAVAHO POPULATION 99 



forms of tribal organizations either on reservations or in Indian 

 territory. 



Before the census of 1860, even those Indians who were living 

 among the general population of the United States were not tabulated 

 separately, but were instead presumably included in the category 

 "free colored." ^^ The omission of "tribal" Indians from the pre-1890 

 decennial censuses was officially justified on the grounds that these 

 persons did not possess legal status either as citizens or as residents 

 of the United States, insofar as the apportionment of representatives 

 among the several States was concerned. The census report on the 

 Indian population of the United States in 1930 includes the following 

 statement on this point: 



PREVIOUS ENUMERATIONS OF INDIANS. — The Census of 1860 was the first in which 

 Indians were distinguished from other classes in the population, but no enumera- 

 tion was made of Indians in Indian Territory or on reservations until 1890. 

 This omission was probably due to the fact that the constitutional provision for 

 the apportionment of representatives in Congress, which was the immediate 

 reason for taking the early censuses, specifically excluded "Indians not taxed." 

 [Bureau of the Census, 1937, p. 2.] 



Most of the census reports prior to 1890 contain summary statistics 

 pertaining to the Indian population of the United States. However, 

 since these figures were obtained from the annual reports of the Com- 

 missioner of Indian Affairs, the census of 1890 provides the first inde- 

 pendent source of information on the Indian population supplied by 

 the census office. 



The earliest reference to Indians in the Territory of New Mexico 

 (roughly comprising the present States of Arizona and New Mexico) 

 appears in the 1850 census report. The estimate quoted therein, as 

 provided by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, was 45,000 (Bureau 

 of the Census, 1853, p. xciv). The enumerated population of the 

 territory at this time was reported as 61,525 Whites and 22 free colored 

 (Bureau of the Census, 1853, p. 998; 1854, p. 191). Since no infor- 

 mation was provided on the tribal composition of the Indians in the 

 territory, it is impossible to judge what proportion of this estimated 

 Indian population might have been Navaho. 



In the census of 1860, a total of only 10,452 Indians were enu- 

 merated in the Territory of New Mexico. Although once again, their 

 tribal composition was not indicated, it can be surmised that these 

 Indians were individuals living among the general population, either 

 as servants or peons living with individual families, or in small groups 



™ The schedule of the first decennial census of the United States in 1790 classified 

 the enumerated population into the following four categories : Free WTiite males, free 

 White females, all other free persons, and slaves. The censuses of 1810 and 1820 added 

 the qualification that the category "All other free persons" excluded Indians not taxed. 

 The censuses of 1820, 1830, and 1840 presented data on Whites, free colored, and slaves, 

 by sex. The census of 1850 presented data on free Whites, free blacks, free mulattoes, and 

 slaves, by sex. From Bureau of the Census, 1853, pp. x-xii. 



