For payout or pride, more claim Native American heritage - USATODAY.com: A new generation of Americans is identifying itself as Native American, pushing the growth rate of that group higher than the nation's general population.
Those identifying themselves as at least part American Indian grew from 4.1 million in 2000 to 4.5 million last year, according to U.S. Census data released in August — a 10% increase.
The total American population grew an estimated 7.7% over that period, the data show.
Demographers say the growth, too large to attribute to birth rates, comes after more than a century of Native Americans choosing to hide their ethnicity over fear of discrimination.
'There's less of a stigma with Indians identifying themselves than there was in the past,' says Jacqueline Johnson Pata, executive director of the National Congress of American Indians in Washington, D.C.
