American Indian Children and Families
Preservation of American Indian culture starts with protection of our most precious resources—American Indian children and families. Only when our children and families are healthy and happy can there be harmony in our world.
Problems Facing American Indian Children and Families
Today, 4.3 million American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) live in the United States—making up 1.5 percent of the total population. The AI/AN population is young, with 33 percent under the age of 18, compared with 26 percent of the total population (SOURCE: 2000, Census). There are alarming statistics on AI/AN youth in almost every risk area:
- American Indian children have one of the highest rates of victimization at 15.5 per 1,000 children of the same race or ethnicity. In 2004, 10,398 AI/AN children were victims of child maltreatment (SOURCE: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services).
- 29% of American Indian children live in poor families (SOURCE: National Center for Children in Poverty).
- The suicide rate among young AI/AN males ages 15-24 is high, accounting for 64% of all AI/AN suicides. This is 2-3 times higher than the general U.S. rate (SOURCE: Surgeon Generals Report, 1999).
- More than half of those who committed suicide in American Indian country had never been seen by a mental health provider, yet 90% of all teens who die by suicide suffer from a diagnosable mental illness at the time of death.
- Alcohol-related deaths among American Indians between the ages of 15-24 are 17 times higher than the national average for the same age group.
- In 2001, 74% of youth in custody in the Federal Bureau of Prisons system were AI/AN youth, a 50% increase since 1994 (SOURCE: http://www.buildingblocksforyouth.org/issues/nativeyouth/facts.html).
NICWA Makes a Difference
NICWA is the only national American Indian organization, either public or private, that is focused on child abuse and neglect issues that impact American Indian children and families. NICWA helps tribes provide community-based, culturally appropriate services that help American Indian children grow up safe, healthy, and spiritually strong—free from abuse, neglect, sexual exploitation, and the damaging effects of substance abuse. NICWA programs have touched almost all of the 561 federally recognized tribes in the United States, and these programs have improved the lives of tens of thousands of American Indian children.