Demographics

  • More than 340 parishes in the United States serve predominantly Native American congregations.

  • Of all (arch)dioceses in the United States, 30% have an office and/or program specifically targeting Native American Catholics.

  • Native Americans compose approximately 3.5% of all Catholics in the United States.

  • Only 40% of Native Americans live in reservations or trust lands.

  • Currently, one archdiocese is headed bishop of Native American ancestry.

  • Most of those ministering to Native American Catholics are members of religious orders; those most likely to be Native American themselves are lay ministers and deacons.

  • Approximately 20% of all Native Americans residing in the United States consider themselves Roman Catholics.

  • According to the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately 2.9 million people identified themselves as Native Americans or Alaska Natives in the year 2008, an increase of about 400,000 from the year 2000. Of this total, it is estimated that 580,000 are Roman Catholics.

  • In addition to the 2.9 million Americans whose primary race is given as Native American or Alaska Native, approximately 1.6 million Americans claim some degree of Native American ancestry.  Of this number, it is estimated that approximately 200,000 are Roman Catholics, footal of approximately 780,000 people claiming some Native American/Alaska Native ancestry who are Catholics in the United States.

 Source: USCCB Secretariat of Cultural Diversity, Native American Catholics at the Millennium.