Johnston] NAVAHO POPULATION 119 



It is clear that such a procedure does not eliminate the possibility 

 that scattered groups of non-Navaho Indians were classified as 

 Navahos because they lived in predominantly Navaho-occupied enu- 

 meration districts. Conversely, of course, individual Navahos or 

 Nahavo families living in areas primarily occupied by non-Navahos 

 would have been classified with the particular Indian agency area in 

 which they were found. 



A further indication of the uncertainty attending the enumeration 

 of Indians located off their respective reservations can be seen in 

 comparing the total reported Navaho service area population with the 

 total enumerated Navaho population. The census figure is 2,107 

 higher than the service area total. Taken literally, this would imply 

 that 2,107 Navahos were residing outside the Navajo Agency service 

 area at the time of the 1950 census. This figure can be contrasted to 

 the estimate of 7,000 such Navahos as submitted by the Navajo Agency. 

 If the larger figure is substantially correct, the only conclusion to be 

 drawn is that a considerable number of off-reservation Navahos were 

 not even identified as Indians by the census enumerators. 



In view of the possible overlap in the classification of off-reservation 

 Indians in the Southwest, and the furtlier possibility that some 

 off-reservation Indians were not identified as Indians or Avere missed 

 entirely in the enumeration, it must be concluded that the discrepan- 

 cies noted above cannot be substantially reduced by utilizing the 

 census procedures that were adopted in 1950. A more accurate clas- 

 sification of off- reservation Indians would require the inclusion, on 

 all census schedules, of a question on tribal affiliation together with a 

 systematic matching procedure to check allegations of tribal mem- 

 bership with existing tribal rolls. Such a program would extend far 

 beyond the scope of current decennial census procedures. 



At first glance, it would appear that some of the procedural 

 innovations of the 1960 census would have provided a significant 

 improvement in the coverage of the Indian population. Although 

 it is difficult to measure the extent of any such improvement, it does 

 appear that the use of self-enumeration schedules which permitted 

 respondents to classify themselves as to race resulted in the proper 

 classification of many Indians who might not have been recognized 

 as Indians in former censuses. However, this improvement is only 

 important in off-reservation areas where significant numbers of 

 Indians might reside, and where they might not be recognized as 

 Indians by the average census enumerator. The proper classification 

 of a person as an Indian or non-Indian is seldom problematical in a 

 reservation area. 



On the other hand, the attempt to use mailed questionnaires in an 

 area such as the Navajo Reservation is hopeless. Most Navahos do 

 not possess mailing addresses, do not live on established mail routes, 



