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 The Historic Areas of Oklahoma delineated for the 1980 census resulted in data tabulations for many tribes linked to one large geographic area. This was an improvement over past censuses, but both the Oklahoma tribes and the Census Bureau wanted to develop a better approach for the 1990 census, one that associated tribes with appropriate smaller geographic areas. To meet this need, the Census Bureau developed the Tribal Jurisdiction Statistical Area (TJSA) Program. To implement this program, the Census Bureau worked with individual tribes or groups of tribes (excluding the Osage Tribe, which has a reservation) to delineate boundaries defining the area associated with their jurisdiction. There were 17 TJSAs delineated for the 1990 census.

The TJSA boundaries had to follow the boundaries of census blocks; that is, they had to conform either to physical features or to the boundaries of other governmental or administrative entities. There were no minimum population or housing requirements for an area to qualify as a TJSA. Territory in an urbanized area could be included in a TJSA. One geographic constraint was that a TJSA could not extend outside the State. As a result, some tribes in northeastern Oklahoma chose not to participate because they wanted to include territory in neighboring States within their TJSA. Territory claimed by two different tribes was identified separately as a joint use area in the 1990 census data tabulations.

Some Federally and State-recognized tribes do not have a legally established land base. However, these tribes often have an area that has customarily been associated with, or influenced by, their tribe. To identify this area of tribal influence, the Census Bureau established a new geographic entity, the tribal designated statistical area (TDSA). Throughout the Nation (except in Alaska and Oklahoma), the Census Bureau worked directly with tribes not having a land base to establish boundaries for 19 TDSAs. The criteria for TDSAs are very similar to those for TJSAs: a TDSA cannot extend onto a Federally or State-recognized reservation 5-12American Indian and Alaska Native Areas