182 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 197 



well established contiguous area of Navaho settlement. However, 

 this problem promises to grow rapidly in importance in the near 

 future, with increasmg numbers of Navahos leaving the reservation 

 either temporarily or permanently, and additional numbers of pre- 

 viously unregistered persons seeking membership in the tribe.^- 



In summary, it must be concluded that a plurality of Indian popu- 

 lation totals, each reflecting a particular definition of this population, 

 seems inevitable in view of the prevailing complexity of biological, 

 legal, and cultural criteria whereby membership in an Indian 

 population is determined at the present time. 



While the development of reliable demographic measures of the 

 Navaho population is dependent upon the existence of accurate and 

 appropriate base figures, there remains the further difficulty of de- 

 veloping improved procedures for recording vital events among 

 this population. Two important trends appear to offer some promise 

 of rapid improvements in this connection. The first of these is the 

 rapid development of hospital and related health facilities among 

 the Navaho in recent years, accompanied by mitigation of the tra- 

 ditional Navaho reluctance to utilize this kind of medical service. 

 With greater availability and use of such facilities, there is a greater 

 likelihood that a Navaho birth or death will occur in a hospital, or 

 be attended by a responsible representative of its medical staff. This 

 naturally results in improved reporting of vital events,-^ 



Secondly, the equally impressive improvements that have been 

 achieved in the general educational level of the Navaho population 

 in the recent past can be expected to promote general improvements in 

 the reliability and accuracy of the information obtained from this 

 population.^* It should be recognized, of course, that insofar as this 

 educational process increases the attractiveness of nonreservation 

 modes of life and the opportunities for gaining a livelihood in urban 

 centers, it may also greatly complicate the problem of maintaining 

 adequate administrative records of this population. The assimilation 

 of Navahos into the mainstream of American life, furthermore, may 



^ As is evident in the preceding analysis, any demographer who attempts to work with 

 Navaho population data is immediately confronted with an assemblage of totals, such as 

 the total "enrolled" population, the total "enumerated" population, the total "resident on 

 the reservation," and the like. The selection of appropriate base figures in such a situation 

 is not always easy. 



-' In 1950, less than 40 percent of Navaho births were estimated to have occurred in 

 hospitals. This percentage is closely correlated with the percentage of known births that 

 can be matched with registration certificates (Hadley, 1952 a). 



^ In the 1960 census, for example, I observed that many of the enumerators in the several 

 areas of the reservation I visited were young, high-school educated, English-speaking 

 Navahos who seemed to be well suited to bridging the enormous gap between the oflBcial 

 census instructions and the realities of enumeration in this area. 



