According to the 2000 United States Census, 2,377,913 people in the United States minus Alaska identified as Native American only, and 4,000,060 people identifi ed as Native American in combination with another ethnic identity. These numbers add up to slightly less than 1% and around 1.5% of the total population respectively.

 There are currently around 335 federally recognized tribes in the United States minus Alaska. More than half of American Indians live off-reservation, many in cities.  American Indian law includes individual treaties and federal

Indian law, which is in fl ux and often dependent on individual U.S. Supreme Court decisions. Tribal governments’ sovereignty is limited by plenary power of the U.S. Congress. Separate federal agencies, such as the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service, are responsible for the federal government’s trust responsibilities to Indian tribes.  As a whole, American Indians have a lower life expectancy and higher poverty rates, and have the highest rate of service in the U.S. armed forces. Some of the main challenges they face are related to trust lands and sovereignty, unemployment, housing shortages, health problems and youth suicides.