Culturally-competent nursing care for American Indian clients in a critical care setting.

Deborah L. Flowers is an associate professor and program coordinator at the ECU @ Southeastern Department of Nursing, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Durant, Okla. Native. This number included 2.5 million who reported they were solely American Indian or Alaska Native and 1.6 million who reported they were American Indian or Alaska Native as well as one or more other races. Within this last group, the most common races included with American Indian and Alaska Native were white (66%), black or African American (11%), and white and black (6.8%); “some other race” accounted for 5.7%. The approximately 4.1 million persons who identify themselves as American Indian make up more than 500 different tribes. Among these tribes are Plains Indians, such as the Apache, Comanche, and Sioux; the Five Civilized Tribes, such as the Cherokee, Choctaw, and Seminole; Pueblos, such as the Navajo and Zuni; and Alaska Natives, which include Eskimos, Aleuts, and other Indians in Alaska. Since 1970 the Native American population has increased by 140%, because more and more persons are claiming Indian heritage. Table 1 lists data from the 2000 US Census Bureau on the number of Native Americans and other racial groups in the United States. American Indians live predominately in 26 states, including Alaska. In the 2000 census, more than half of all persons who reported they were American Indian lived in 10 states. The states, in order of the number of American Indian inhabitants, are California, Oklahoma, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, New York, Washington, North Carolina, Michigan, and Alaska. Of all respondents who reported they were American Indian, 43% lived in the West, 31% Deborah L. Flowers, RN, PhD