Press Release: Los Angeles Urban Indian Roundtable

LOS ANGELES HIGHLIGHTS (IN)VISIBILITY AND THE STATE OF AMERICAN INDIANS

A SUMMARY OF THE STATE OF LA INDIANS

LOS ANGELES- In order to heighten the visibility of issues facing American Indian / Alaska Natives (AI/AN) in Los Angeles County, the Los Angeles Urban Indian Roundtable compiled a brief summary of current research relevant to the community that focus on four main themes. In November, a Report Card will be released accompanied by policy recommendations. According to the 2010 United Stated Census, the 5.2 million AI/ANs now overwhelmingly do not live on reservations.1 The Census further indicates that more AI/ANs live in California than any other state. Further, Los Angeles has been home to more AI/ANs than any other county in the country. Given this significant AI/AN population, the Roundtable is committed to advocating for the needs of the greater Los Angeles AI/AN communities.

Health Statement
AI/AN have the lowest life expectancy in the United States, with the highest rates of diseases such as diabetes, sexually transmitted infections, hypertension, asthma, arthritis, and morbid obesity to the U.S. population. In a recent report on Urban Indian health care needs, the assessment not only supported these statistics but also indicated the affect on AI/AN in urban areas. There are benchmark indicators of the serious health disparities that continue to afflict the AI/AN community.

Additionally, the migration of AI/AN continues toward the urban areas with the 2010 US Census indicating that more than 70% of AI/AN live in metropolitan areas; thus bring substantial new levels of chronic medical conditions, coupled with multiple cultural barriers to seek out quality health care.

With the implementation of the Affordable Care Act and the permanent reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, health systems will be important to deliver of quality health care to AI/AN.

Housing and Homelessness
According to the 2011 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count, AI/ANs make up 1.3% of the homeless in the City of Los Angeles. The number of homeless AI/ANs in Los Angeles County increases to 1.4% of the total homeless population. However, the City of Long Beach reports 3% of the homeless population as AI/AN.2 Further analysis is needed into the survey tools regarding ethnic identification and reports from geo-specific pockets given the disbursement of the AI/AN population across the county, a legacy of the Indian Relocation Act. Education Statistics For California

The state of Indian education in Los Angeles County and California is far behind all other ethnic groups. Between 2005 and 2006, the AI/AN High School Graduation Rates in California declined 2.8%.3 AI/AN high school graduation rates are 17.7%, well below overall averages for students in California.4 Graduation rates for AI/AN students are approximately 52.4%, which is lower than all other ethnic groups.5 Furthermore, the college preparedness of AI/AN students is about 16%, while the overall rate is 67% resulting in a 51% gap.6 Within the University of California (UC) system, the number of University ready applicants was about 100 in 2005, about half the number than in 2000.

The rate of AI/AN UC ready students is declining. AI/ANs are underrepresented at UC institutions. . Too few students are graduating with college ready training in the Los Angeles Unified School District, and too few are graduating from tribal communities throughout Southern California. A greater analysis of county specific data is needed along with acknowledgement from LAUSD that AI/AN students are less academically prepared for college in comparison to other students.

Poverty
AI/ANs in Los Angeles County are two to three times less likely to be unemployed than non- Hispanic whites (NHW). The education system has failed to prepare AI/ANs for the present-day market system. The average value of homes for AI/ANs is two thirds the values of homes of NHWs.7 In 2007 to 2009, 22.7% of Los Angels County AIAN children were living in poverty, while the overall poverty rate was 11.7% for LA County Children.8 On the brighter side, there were in 2007, 17,634 Indian or Alaska Native owned firms in the Los Angeles, Long Beach and Santa Ana metro area and accounts for more than one third of Native-owned businesses nationally.9 AI/AN owned businesses totaled 1.4% of 245,523 private non-farm establishments in LA County.

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About Us
The Los Angeles Urban Indian Roundtable is a group of stakeholders committed to improving the quality of life for the AI/AN living in the city and county of Los Angeles. The Roundtable is comprised of representatives from AI/AN serving agencies, community based organizations, university programs, field experts and a local tribe. Stakeholder members include leadership from the American Indian Chamber of Commerce, American Indian Community Council, American Indian Healing Center, American Indian Studies Center at University of California Los Angeles, Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians, Los Angeles City County Native American Indian Commission, Pukúu Cultural Community Services, Red Circle Project, Southern California Indian Center, Title VII at Los Angeles Unified School District, Torres Martinez Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and United American Indian Involvement.

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4 Faircloth, Dropout/Graduation Crisis, p. 12.
5 Faircloth, Dropout/Graduation Crisis, p. 14.
6 Amy Fann, “Forgotten Students: American Indian High School Studentsʼ Narratives on College Going,”
Paper prepared for the UC Berkeley Center for the Study of Higher Education Research Colloquium, May 7,
2004. p. 3. Jay Greene and Greg Foster, "Public High School Graduation and College Readiness Rates in
the United States." Manhattan Institute, Center for Civic Information, Education Working Paper, no. 3,
September, 2003. S. Bennally, “Serving American Indian Students: Participation in Accelerated Learning
Opportunities. Report from the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, March, 2004. Dean
Chavers, “Indian Students and College Preparation,” Proceedings from the Second Annual Research in
Indian Education (RIE) Conference, Albuquerque, NM, 2000.
7 UCLA Ralph & Goldy Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies and United American Indian Involvement,
“Socioeconomic Status of American Indian Adults in Los Angels, 2004.
8 Kidsdata.org, “Family Income and Poverty.”
9 US Census Bureau