Geographies of Racially Mixed People and Households: A Focus on American Indians

Carolyn A. Liebler, University of Minnesota
Meghan Zacher, University of Minnesota

In this research, we use the public use microdata from Census 2000 to identify variations in residential location of multiracial individuals and mixed race households, focusing specifically on American Indians. Although they are substantively interesting, American Indians and multiracials are both small and dispersed groups who are rarely represented in research on residential location and segregation. We map the race-specific (e.g., American Indian-white multiracials as compared to American Indian-black multiracials) PUMA-level locations of these individuals and households across the United States. Our disaggregation of different types of mixed-race American Indian households extends the work of Wong (1998, 1999) to reflect current sociological knowledge about the varieties of experiences of people in different multiracial situations. This research advances knowledge about the social context of race and identity in the contemporary United States.