Volume 37 - Article 1 | Pages 1–12  

Fertility change in the American Indian and Alaska Native population, 1980–2010

By Sarah Cannon, Christine Percheski

Abstract

Background: Since 1990, Vital Statistics reports show a dramatic decline in the total fertility rates (TFRs) of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) women in the United States.

Objective: We study whether the decrease in TFRs is due to a real change in fertility for a stable population; a compositional change in who identifies as AI/AN; or a methodological issue stemming from differences in identifying race across the data systems used to calculate fertility rates.

Methods: We use data from the decennial US Census to study change in AI/AN fertility from 1980–2010.

Results: We find declining TFRs when fertility is calculated within a single data system. Additionally, although TFRs are relatively stable within the subgroups of married and unmarried AI/AN women, the proportion of AI/AN women who are married has declined across birth cohorts.

Conclusions: The decrease in TFRs for AI/AN women is a real change in fertility patterns and is not due to differences in racial identification across data systems.

Contribution: We update knowledge of AI/AN fertility to include the decline in TFRs between 1980 and 2010.

Author's Affiliation

• Sarah Cannon - Gibson Consulting Group, United States of America EMAIL
• Christine Percheski - Northwestern University, United States of America EMAIL

Other articles by the same author/authors in Demographic Research

Age-heterogamous partnerships: Prevalence and partner differences by marital status and gender composition
Volume 50 - Article 23

Most recent similar articles in Demographic Research

Educational trends in cohort fertility by birth order: A comparison of England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland
Volume 51 - Article 36    | Keywords: birth order, cohort analysis, cross-national study, England, family size, fertility, Northern Ireland, parity, Scotland, Wales

Higher incomes are increasingly associated with higher fertility: Evidence from the Netherlands, 2008–2022
Volume 51 - Article 26    | Keywords: fertility, income, inequalities, Netherlands, parenthood

The short- and long-term determinants of fertility in Uruguay
Volume 51 - Article 10    | Keywords: fertility, panel data, stages of female reproductive life, time series, Uruguay

Decomposition analysis of disparities in infant mortality rates across 27 US states
Volume 50 - Article 40    | Keywords: decomposition, health disparities, infant mortality, United States of America

The big decline: Lowest-low fertility in Uruguay (2016–2021)
Volume 50 - Article 16    | Keywords: adolescent fertility, birth order, fertility, Latin America, ultra-low fertility, Uruguay