Why the jump in the Native American population may be one of the hardest to explain

The Native American population grew to its largest size in generations after years of fighting for an accurate Census tally. The jump was surprising, experts and advocates say, and much more complicated than the result of successful outreach campaigns.

In 2020, the number of people who identified as Native American and Alaska Native (AIAN) alone and in combination with another race was 9.7 million, up from 5.2 million in 2010. They now account for 2.9% of all the people living in the United States, according to the Census Bureau. The group was not exempt to the unprecedented growth of multiracial Americans across the country. In the past decade, they had a 160% increase that experts believe was driven by myriad factors, including more mixed-race families, the struggle that Latinos face during racial self-identification and Americans wanting to embrace their heritage even if they are not recognized as tribal members.