Differences between Native Americans and Caucasians in Emmet and Cheboygan counties, Michigan (1850-present): a demographic study.

Abstract

It has been long questioned as to if and how cultural and socioeconomic differences play a role in demography. This study explores these possibilities through the comparison of Native Americans, a group known for poverty and poor health, with Caucasians in Emmet and Cheboygan Counties, Michigan. Cemeteries and clerks offices were scoured for information concerning deaths of both groups from 1850 AD to 1999 AD. Life tables were then constructed and survivorship curves plotted. It was evident that as time progressed both groups experienced an increasing rectangularization in their survivorship. Thus, they had larger expected life spans. There was an intermixing of survivorship between Native Americans and Caucasians, and the reasons for these findings will be discussed in this paper.