No One Definitionj
It's difficult to accurately define "urban Indian" and hence many go under-represented in crucial data and statistics. This makes it difficult to understand the troubles they have and how services can be improved.
Native people face some of the most dire socio-economic conditions of any group in America, and urban Indians are a group that faces unique challenges. There is a critical lack of research on the issues facing Native families residing in urban areas and the important differences between urban Indians and Indians residing on tribal lands. There is a need for more data to address the unique and common concerns that Native people in America's cities share with each other and with their reservation-based relatives.
There is a critical lack of research on the issues facing Native families residing in urban areas and virtually no research focused directly on understanding and alleviating the many social ills this population currently suffers, such as disparities in rates of poverty, disability status, educational attainment, employment, and single-parent status.