• Weather
• Transportation/Traffic
• Consumer
• Education
• Environment
• Politics
• Election '08
• Real Estate
• Webtowns/Neighborhoods
• Under the Needle
• Obituaries
• Special Reports
• Corrections

• Election '08
• U.S.
• Washington, D.C.
• Africa
• Asia
• Australia
• Canada
• Europe
• Latin America
• Middle East

• Mariners/MLB
• Seahawks/NFL
• Sonics/NBA
• Storm/WNBA
• Sounders FC/Soccer
• College Football
• College Basketball
• Olympics
• High Schools
• Other Sports
• Art Thiel
• Jim Moore

• Boeing
• Microsoft
• VC Notebook
• Bill Virgin
• Real Estate
• Wire
• Tech Wire
• Personal Finance
• Sci-Tech
• Layoff Tracker

• Event Calendar
• Movies - Showtimes
• TV & Radio - Listings
• Restaurants/Dining
• Music
• Local Bands
• Books
• Video Games
• Theater/Fine Arts
• People
• A&E Wire
• Going Out
• Staying In

• Pets
• Food
• Seattle@Home
• NW Gardens
• Getaways/Outdoors
• Visitors Guide
• Health & Fitness
• Fashion
• Parenting
• MomSeattle
• DadSeattle
• Advice Columnists
• Horoscope
• Wheels

• Comics & Games
• Crossword

• Photos
• MySeattlePix
• Multimedia
• AP Video
• Buy Photos

• Editorials
• Letters
• David Horsey
• Forums
• Soundoffs
• Joel Connelly
• Robert Jamieson
• D. Parvaz
• Mary Swift

• Staff Blogs
• Reader Blogs
• Blog for us

• Home Delivery
• Mobile
• e-Edition
• E-mail Newsletters
• RSS Feeds
• P-I Reader
• Twitter

• Online ads
• Online text ads
• Newspaper ads
• Classified ads

• Classifieds
• Shopping
• Pets
• Personals
• Place an ad

Want multiracial? Visit Krupp (population 60)

Saturday, March 24, 2001

By D. PARVAZ
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

We're full of surprises here in Washington, and not just when it comes to Boeing and earthquakes. We're talking about the Census 2000 race figures.

If culturally savvy Seattleites thought they were at the top of the multiracial heap, they were wrong. The three state cities with the highest percentage of multiracial populations are Krupp (15 percent), Mesa (12 percent) and Roy (8 percent).

With a population of 60, Krupp, roughly 30 miles northeast of Moses Lake, not only beats out Seattle's 4.5 percent multiracial numbers, but also beats the pants off of New York City's 4.9 percent.

Of course, things are a little smaller in scale around Krupp.

"How many people did you say? Nine?" City Treasurer James Friend asked when told how many Kruppians said they were multiracial.

"I would say that's kind of high.... I figured most of the town was German, or had a little bit of Russian German," said Friend, who has lived in the state's smallest incorporated town since 1959. "I'm just kind of puzzled by it more than anything. Maybe people just have more mixes in their bodies than I think."

Three of Friend's neighbors say they're white and American Indian, four said they're white and some other, unspecified race. The other two likely checked three or more boxes on the form.

No one from Mesa, a tiny town south of Othello, could be reached for comment yesterday. But in Roy, 20 miles southeast of Tacoma, Mayor Joel Derefield said the numbers were no surprise.

"Out here we're colorblind and we're proud of it. We never ask anybody what they are," said Derefield. He does, however, say he's surprised that only 260 of Roy's 370 residents were counted.

Source: U.S. Census

"Some people received long form, some short form -- some no form," he said. "We were suspect of the process from the beginning."

Distrust of the federal government aside, the numbers seem a little low to some, but not because of an undercount conspiracy.

"I think in most respects, the (racial) numbers coincide pretty well compared to the other states," said Matt Kelley, publisher of Mavin, a magazine on multiracial issues.

He said the multiracial numbers seem a little low, but he sees that as a reflection of how many multiracial people tend to identify with one race or culture, and tend not to acknowledge the other parts of their ancestry.

He said that if you look at the CIA World Fact Book (www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/), most countries in the Western Hemisphere include multiracials in their population numbers. Mexico, for example, says Mestizos -- an Amerindian and Spanish mix -- make up 60 percent of its population. The book doesn't list multiracial numbers for the United States.

"Here, we seem to be really resisting that. Hopefully, that'll change with this census," Kelley said.

In 1990, the census allowed only a limited range of choices for race: White, black, Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian or Hispanic of any race.

This census, with its 63 possible racial combinations -- raised to 126 once the Hispanic culture is tossed in -- may seem convoluted, but it's worth mentioning that Canada has been asking the question since 1981. Furthermore, their census, which is done once every five years, lumps race, skin-color and the Hispanic question all into one: Origin. All of their origin categories and their combinations yield 188 categories.

In Washington state, the most popular racial mixes are white and American Indian; white and Asian; and white and black, each weighing in at 0.8 percent. All told, 3.6 percent of Washington residents chose two or more races in the census.

In 1998, the state Office of Financial Management estimated that 22 percent of the state's American Indians would tick two boxes when asked their race, and that 13 percent of blacks, 3 percent of whites and 4 percent of Asian and Pacific Islanders would do the same.

They were way off for some.

About 38 percent of those who identified themselves as American Indians also said they were of some other race. For blacks, it was about 18 percent. And for Asian/Pacific Islanders, it was 20 percent. For whites the prediction was closest, at 3.4 percent.

Stan Jones, chairman of the Snohomish County-based Tulalip Tribe, says the large number of multiracial Indians is explained by history.

"The government put a school on the reservation, and children were forced to go there. They were taken from their homes, had all their hair cut off and had their language (they spoke Lushootseed, a Snohomish dialect) taken away from them," said Jones, who was about 5 when the practice ceased in 1933.

This forced assimilation with white culture, along with intermarriage between lone male white settlers and Indian women more than a century ago, further mixed the races, he said. But just because the option is there, it doesn't mean that everyone took it.

	In Lander Hall on the UW campus, Tyson Marsh and others listen to a student who is part American Indian talk about race relations. Grant M. Haller / Seattle Post-Intelligencer Click for larger photo

Tyson Marsh, a University of Washington student, is biracial: His father is white and his mother is black. Although he appears white, Marsh, 23, identifies himself as an African American and, in fact, checked only one box on the census form.

"I checked African American, and I did that for political purposes. I felt it served the African American community, and that's very important," he said.

Marsh, who is a student ambassador for the UW Office of Minority Affairs, said he likes the idea of being given the option of ticking more than one box.

"I think it's great that people have the choice. I don't think that people should have to deny a part of themselves on the census ... the freedom to put yourself in several different categories is great."

LeRoy Joseph, 49, a Tulalip member, says he is 15/16 American Indian and feels no crushing need to declare that 1/16 of him is German.

"I only picked one box -- Native American," said Joseph, who owns and runs Slo-Joe's Grill on the reservation along with his two sons, Rocky, 30, and Jason, 26.

Although his wife is a one-quarter white (and three-quarters Yakama), he says both his sons also filled in only the American Indian box.

For those who acknowledge their mixed heritage, Joseph said, "These other guys have some thinking to do. I know I'm Indian. The Indian that's in me is all of me. But I don't know, are you really proud of being 1/16 Scotch, or whatever? I don't know. You are what you are."

Multiracial profiles For the first time ever, the 2000 Census allowed people to choose more than one race category. Here's a look at how popular that choice was around the state:
City	County	% Multiracial
Seattle	King	4%
Bellevue	King	3%
Everett	Snohomish	4%
Yakima	Yakima	4%
Tacoma	Pierce	6%
Mesa	Franklin	12%
Roy	Pierce	8%
Lakewood	Pierce	7%
Bremerton	Kitsap	7%
Tukwila	King	7%
SeaTac	King	6%
Wapato	Yakima	6%

Most common multiracial combinations in Washington

P-I reporter D. Parvaz can be reached at 206-448-8095 or dparvaz@seattle-pi.com