Data on Lincoln County and the State of Oregon were obtained from numerous social service agencies through their state, regional, and local offices. Specific data sources are indicated on each table. Data are not available by tribe, so this information may include non-Siletz Indians as well. In Lincoln County, however, these figures are fairly representative of the Siletz Tribe since Siletz Indians constitute 75 percent of all Lincoln County Indians. This percentage is based upon the current Siletz Tribal roll and the 1975 survey of Indians in Lincoln County conducted by the Siletz Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) program. Some information was only available for a category of minority groups called "other races" that included American Indians, Oriental, and other races. Again, in Lincoln County, these figures are representative of the Siletz Indian population since the American Indian portion of the "other races" category is 75 percent of the total. This percentage is based upon the State Employment Division's Lincoln County Labor Market information for 1979 Affirmative Action programs. Because of the blood quantum requirements associated with eligibility for various Federal programs and for tribal membership, it is sometimes necessary to differentiate between tribal members, and their spouses and children who are not members of the Tribe. For the purposes of this study, however, such distinctions were not drawn since the Siletz Tribal needs encompass the needs of its members as well as their families. For this reason, the terms "Siletz Indian population" and "Siletz Indian people" as used in this report include tribal members as well as their families. POPULATION Number and Location of Families There are currently 613 Siletz Indian families. Of these, 291 (48 percent) live within the 8-county service area and 321 (52 percent) live outside the service area. These households include a total population of approximately 2,005 people. At this time, 1,083 (54 percent) are certified tribal members. Over three-quarters of the Siletz Indian families are town The largest concentration of Siletz Indian families is in Lincoln County. These families represent 44 percent of the families in the service area and 21 percent of the total number of Siletz Indian families. Marion County follows, with 25 percent of the service area families residing in Salem. Of all Siletz families, 457 (49 percent) live in Oregon and 576 (62 percent) of all Siletz Indian families live in the Western United States (Oregon, California, Idaho and Washington). More detailed information on household locations is presented in Tables 2 and 3. The Siletz Indian population is relatively young, with an average age of 25 years. The average age in the United States in 1974 was 31.1) The lower average age of the Siletz Indian people may indicate a lower-than-average life expectancy, an above-average birth rate, or a combination of the two. A summary of information on the age of the Siletz Indian population is included in Table 4. Family Size Within the 8-county service area, the average Siletz Indian family size is 3.1 persons. Outside the service area, the average family size is slightly larger - 3.4 persons. This is substantially larger than the 1978 average household size in Lincoln County, 2.3 persons per household, as determined by the Lincoln County Housing Study conducted by Richard L. Ragatz Associates, Inc. It is also larger than the average household size for the United States in 1973, recorded at 3.0. (The 1978 United States average household size is probably lower than 3.0 but no 1978 data is available.) This is probably related to the larger percentage of the Siletz Indian population under the age of 18 (that live at home and tend to swell the size of families), and the relatively small percentage of Siletz Indian people above the age of 65 (that often live in single-family households and therefore lower the average family size). Indian Health Trends and Services, United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Public Health Service, Health Services Administration, 1976, p. 4. Information regarding the health status of the Siletz Indians is currently available for only those families residing within the 8-county service area and is based upon data gathered in the SERA survey and analyzed in the Tribe's 1979 Tribal Specific Health Plan. Major Health Problems A comparison of the ranked order of health problems requiring immediate attention with the ranked order of reported family histories of health problems, shows that the first four health problems listed in each category are the same. These are dental, vision, cardiovascular, and ear/hearing problems. Other problems with a high incidence of occurrence are stomach problems/ulcer, injuries, cancer, diabetes, allergies, arthritis/rheumatism/ bursitis, and obesity. Of all the problems mentioned, cardiovascular problems are by far the most serious threat to the lives of Siletz Indians. High incidence of serious health problems among the Siletz Indians has been directly correlated to factors of economic deprivation, environmental and employment health hazards, poor nutrition and lack of primary health care in the 1979 Tribal Specific Health Plan. Primary Health Care Health problems of the Siletz Indians are compounded because many of the Siletz families cannot afford routine medical care, routine dental care, and major health care such as hospitalization. Hospitalization data indicate that the average length of stay for the Siletz Indians (11.5 days) is more than double the service area average of 5.4 days. Furthermore, the admission rate of Siletz Indians is 92 admissions per thousand individuals as compared with an Indian Health Service established average of 181 admissions per thousand Indians across the United States. These data suggest that the Siletz Indians are not going to the hospital until their health problems become serious, which accounts for the low admission rate. Once in the hospital, the severity of their problems requires extensive care which accounts for the longer than average length of stay. Birth and Death Rates Birth and death rates for the Siletz Indian population are presented in Table 5. The birth rate presented for the Siletz Indian population is actually a survival rate. The figure was derived from a count of the individuals between the ages of 0 and 4 years old. The total number of individuals under the age of 5 years old was divided by 5 to determine the average number of surviving children born each year. This average was then divided by the total number of individuals in the population and multiplied by 1,000 to get the survival rate per thousand individuals. The birth rate for the Siletz Indians is approximately midway between that of the U.S. general population at the low end and that of the general Native American population at the high end of the range. The death rate used in this table is a "crude death rate." The total number of deaths that occurred in a 1-year period was divided by the total population and multiplied by 100,000 to obtain the death rate per 100,000 individuals. The death rate per 100,000 for the Siletz Indians is more than double the death rate per 100,000 Indians from the general Indian population. Leading Causes of Death Cardiovascular problems, injuries, diabetes, cancer, and ulcers were all reported as causes of death among the Siletz Indians during the period from 1976-1978. The percentages of deaths due to accidents (8 percent) and diabetes (4 percent) are higher for the Siletz Indians than for the Western 1) "Tribal Specific Health Plan, Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians," Social and Environmental Research Associates, Inc., June 1979, p. 45. |