text: In the 1980 census 1,139,976 people in Alabama cited that they were of English ancestry out of a total state population of 2,824,719 making them 41% of the state at the time and the largest ethnic group.In 2011, 46.6% of Alabama's population younger than age1 were minorities.The largest reported ancestry groups in Alabama are American (13.4%), Irish (10.5%), English (10.2%), German (7.9%), and Scots-Irish (2.5%) based on 2006-2008 Census data.The Scots-Irish were the largest non-English immigrant group from the British Isles before the American Revolution, and many settled in the South, later moving into the Deep South as it was developed.In 1984, under the Davis–Strong Act, the state legislature established the Alabama Indian Affairs Commission.Native American groups within the state had increasingly been demanding recognition as ethnic groups and seeking an end to discrimination.Given the long history of slavery and associated racial segregation, the Native American peoples, who have sometimes been of mixed race, have insisted on having their cultural identification respected.In the past, their self-identification was often overlooked as the state tried to impose a binary breakdown of society into white and black.The state has officially recognized nine American Indian tribes in the state, descended mostly from the Five Civilized Tribes of the American Southeast.These are the following.Poarch Band of Creek Indians (who also have federal recognition) MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians Star Clan of Muscogee Creeks Echota Cherokee Tribe of Alabama Cherokee Tribe of Northeast Alabama Cher-O-Creek Intra Tribal Indians Ma-Chis Lower Creek Indian Tribe Piqua Shawnee Tribe Ani-Yun-Wiya Nation The state government has promoted recognition of Native American contributions to the state, including the designation in 2000 for Columbus Day to be jointly celebrated as American Indian Heritage Day.Language Most Alabama residents (95.