Tribal Reservations

Federally recognized tribes own a total of 325 reservations and/or off-reservation on trust lands, according to the most recent available data.,^1,2 ” Off-reservation trust lands are areas for which the United States holds titles in trust for the benefit of a tribe (tribal trust land) or for an individual American Indian or Alaska Native (individual trust land).

There are 539,616 AI/AN individuals living on a reservation or off-reservation trust land who self-identified as being affiliated with at least one federally recognized tribe.^1,3

Reservations and off-reservation trust lands with the highest percentage of these individuals—

1. Navajo Nation Reservation and off-reservation trust land, Arizona-New Mexico-Utah (30.48% or 164,473 individuals)
2. Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota (3.05% or 16,471 individuals)
3. Fort Apache Reservation, Arizona (2.46% or 13,260 individuals)
4. Gila River Reservation, Arizona (2.16% or 11,672 individuals)

TABLE 4: 10 reservations and/or off-reservation trust lands with highest percentage of individuals identifying as American Indians and/or Alaska Natives (AI/ANs)

Sources:

¹US Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2009–2013. American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table BO2001 Race; generated by the Tribal Support Unit; using American FactFinder. Accessed Jun 9, 2015.

²Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs. Indian entities recognized and eligible to receive services from the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs [PDF-189KB]. Federal Register 2015;80(9):1942–8.

1. US Census Bureau. American Indian Reservations (Federal): 2010. (n.d.) [PDF-239KB]. Accessed Jul 8, 2015. Off-reservation trust lands are areas for which the United States holds titles in trust for the benefit of a tribe (tribal trust land) or for an individual American Indian or Alaska Native (individual trust land).
2. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs. Indian entities recognized and eligible to receive services from the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs [PDF-189KB]. Federal Register 2015;80(9):1942–8.
3. US Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2009–2013. American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table BO2001 Race; generated by the Tribal Support Unit; using American FactFinder. Accessed Jun 9, 2015.