Montana American Indian Population Expected to Double Because of 'Explosive' Birth Rates

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 09 Nov 2005 - 20:00 PDT

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Montana's American Indian population is expected to double in the next 25 years, with an "explosive" birth rate driving the increase, the AP/Billings Gazette reports. On the Rocky Boy's Reservation, about 90 miles northeast of Great Falls, the birth rate is about 29 births per 1,000 residents, more than twice the state's rate of 12 births per 1,000 residents. According to tribal health board records, the birth rate accounts for at least 100 infants for each of the last five years, not including infants born off the reservation. Reservation populations also tend to be younger, which means fewer deaths and more births, according to the AP/Billings Gazette. A 2005 survey of high school students conducted by CDC and the Montana Office of Public Instruction reports that reservation teens are having sex earlier, more frequently and with more partners, compared with off-reservation teens. Reservation teens also are less likely to use birth control than teens who do not live on a reservation, the study showed. According to the data, 70% of reservation high school students reported having had sex and 10% of sexually active reservation students surveyed reported using birth control pills. Zella Nault, a counselor at Rocky Boy High School, said some families discourage birth control because it conflicts with Indian values or Catholic teachings. "A lot of older people don't believe in birth control because it goes against nature," Nault said. In 2000, the Rocky Boy's Reservation population was estimated to be 2,676; however, a private study by the Chippewa-Cree Business Committee estimates the actual population to be 4,200 - a 54% increase from census figures 10 years ago (AP/Billings Gazette, 11/6).

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