U.S. Census: Over 27,000 Oklahomans Speak A Native American Language

A northeastern Arizona county has the highest number of Native American language speakers in the country.

The U.S. Census Bureau says Apache County in eastern Arizona has 37,000 such speakers, while 10 Oklahoma counties have just over 27,000 Native American language speakers.

The figure is based on five-year estimates from community surveys that allowed the Census for the first time to study small segments of the U.S. population.

The Census found that fewer than a half-million people age 5 and over speak a Native American language at home.

Read the U.S. Census report.

In Oklahoma, 10 counties comprise most of the state's Native American language speakers.

The Census says those who speak Cherokee number at 11,610, those who speak Choctaw at 10,343 and those who speak Creek at 5,064.