KEY WORDS: American Indians, urban settlement, California Bay, residential mobility, social identity, ethnography
The history and social organization of the American Indian community in the San Francisco Bay area of California illustrates the situation of urban Indians. Factors affecting the census count are discussed, including housing in non-standard dwellings, lack of residential address, residential dispersion, individual mobility in and out of households, the migrations of whole households, past conflicts with the federal government, literacy skills, negative connotations of government forms, defense of personal privacy, and continuing affiliation with reservation communities. Contexts and externally imposed criteria for identification with one or more particular tribes and in the "race- Ind.(Amer.)" are set in a continuum and paradigm of social identity. The sponsoring organization is a social and social service nonprofit agency serving American Indians of diverse backgrounds and situations.
Citation: Lobo 1990 Ethnographic Exploratory Research Report #12. Preliminary Report for Joint Statistical Agreement 89-19 with the Intertribal Friendship House, Oakland, California.
