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Problem of Indian Administration

of the reservations appearing to have the lowest death rate from tuberculosis, for example, may be the very ones with, proportionately, the greatest number of deaths from tuberculosis, and at the same time the ones with the most inadequate and imperfect reporting.

Tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is without doubt the most serious disease among Indians. The high death rate from tuberculosis has been indicated in the statistics just given, but the extent of the disease is not known with reasonable accuracy.

Table 6

An analysis of reported causes of death on eleven reservations having a population amounting to 16.8 per cent of total Indian population, exclusive of the Five Civilized Tribes. These eleven reservations are regarded as representing the area of the less inaccurate reporting of vital statistics

The formula generally accepted in making tuberculosis estimates in the general population is based on the average number of deaths over a period of years. During the years 1916 to 1925 the number of Indian deaths reported from tuberculosis was 10,760, or an average of 1076 deaths each year. Intensive case-finding surveys in white communities, such as Framingham, Mass., Cattaraugus County, N. Y., and Fargo, N. D., have shown that approximately nine active and nine arrested cases may be expected for each annual death. Reports of death among Indians are incomplete to an unknown extent, but application of the formula to the figures just given indicates at least 9684 active and 9684 arrested cases, or a minimum of 19,368 tuberculous Indians living at the present time.

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