Just the Facts: Indigenous People Day is October 12 

• • In the United States, the combined populations of Native Americans, Inuit and other Indigenous designations totaled 2,786,652 (constituting about 1.5% of 2003 U.S. census figures). 
  • Some 563 scheduled tribes are recognized at the federal level, and a number of others recognized at the state level.
  • There are four Native Americans currently serving in the U.S. Congress: Tom Cole (serving since 2003) and Markwayne Mullin (serving since 2013), both of whom are Republican Representatives from Oklahoma; and Democrats Sharice Davids of Kansas and Deb Haaland of New Mexico who were elected in 2016. 
  • Approximately 56 million acres of land are held in trust by the United States for various Native American tribes and individuals.

There has been a 40% decline in the number of pro-tribal bills signed by President Trump over previous administrations. Instead, there’s been an increase in policies that threaten Native American lands, including: the controlled blasting of Monument Hill in the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument for the construction of the border wall between the US and Mexico; the proposed 85% reduction in the Bears Ears National Monument; the signing of executive orders greenlighting the Dakota Access Pipeline and the push to sell off the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for drilling.