2010 Census Alaska Native Village Conference
Director’s Report: United States 2010 Census Alaska Native Village Conference, October 21, 2009, Hilton Hotel, Anchorage, Alaska
Overview:
Napaimute Traditional Council Vice President, Bobby Kristovich and Director of Operations, Mark Leary attended this very informative conference on the upcoming 2010 Census. Along with hundreds of other village representatives from across Alaska we learned about the critical importance of getting an accurate count of Rural Alaska’s Native people in the 2010 Census.
Why an Accurate Count of Rural Alaska’s Native People?
Prior to attending this conference, we didn’t have a good understanding of the importance of making sure our people are accurately counted. Now we do!
Federal Funding:
63% of all general funding that comes to Alaska from the Federal Government is based directly or indirectly on formulas that rely on census population data.
The big three program areas that are most affected by Census Population Data are:
• Health (such as Medic Aide & IHS Funding)
• Transportation (airport & highway improvements)
• Housing (Indian Housing Block Grant)
While these are the big three Federal Programs critically dependent on Census Population Data, there are many, many other programs that rely on the Census in the calculation, allocation, and distribution of financial and even natural resources.
The U.S. Census even effects the harvest allocation of whales to Alaska’s Northern Villages!
Redistricting:
The number of seats allocated to States in the U.S. House of Representatives is based on population.
This is a more important issue to States with larger populations, but may become important to Alaska as we continue to grow.
More critical to Alaska and especially Rural Alaska is the fact that Census Population Data is also used to allocate seats in the State Legislature.
Rural Alaska has been losing 6% of its population annually through out-migration to Urban Alaska.
There is concern that Rural Alaska may lose some of it’s already few seats in the State Legislature and Urban Alaska will gain seats.
This out movement of Rural Alaskan’s may be offset by the high birth rate among Alaska Natives. So an accurate count in 2010, especially of the very young, is crucial if we are to hold on to the limited representation we currently have in Juneau.
Tribal Affiliation:
Conference Presenters also stressed the importance of Alaska Natives accurately recording their tribal affiliation.
The 2010 will be using a “short Form” that is quick, easy, and safe (your personal information is confidential) to fill out. It is made up of only 10 questions.
Question number 9 asks for a person’s race. For people identifying themselves as American Indian or Alaska Native there is a separate set of boxes for them to write in the name of the tribe they are enrolled with.
It is very important for tribal members to accurately identify their tribe – no matter where they are living at the time of the 2010 Census.
This is especially applicable to Napaimute’s Tribal Members as we are a scattered bunch. Please make sure that you write in the boxes: NVN NAPAIMUTE – no matter where you are living today
Problems with the 2000 Census:
To help us understand the importance of getting an accurate count of Alaska’s Rural Native Population in 2010, Conference participants looked back at some of the population data from the 2000 Census.
We noticed that serious undercounting occurred in the 2000.
For example, one Lower Kuskokwim village had only 12 Native people counted in a community that we know has over 200 Natives living in it!
It made us wonder just how much Federal Funding our region missed out on during a decade of declining economic opportunities (commercial fishing) and skyrocketing energy costs where additional assistance could have really helped our people.
2010 Census Kick Off:
We were proud to learn that the 2010 U.S. Census will begin in the Alaska Village of Noorvik in late January.
This means that the very first United States Citizen counted in the 2010 Census will be an Alaskan Native!
It is the goal of the Census Bureau to complete the population count of Alaska’s Rural Villages prior to Spring Break Up in May – before people scatter for their summer subsistence activities.
Also, over 2,000 temporary jobs will be created in Alaska during the 2010 Census. These are good paying jobs ranging from $18.75 to $28 per hour.
If you are interested in a job with the 2010 Census contact:
The Anchorage Local Census Office Manager
2000 W International Airport Rd., Suite C6
(907) 249-2901
Summary:
Now we know how crucial the 2010 U.S. Census is to our region and our people.
An accurate count of the people in our villages will affect the level of Federal Funding we receive over the next 10 years and how much representation we have in Juneau for another decade.
Please help get the word out to everyone young and old, up and down the River, and across Rural Alaska that they must make sure to get counted in the 2010 U.S. Census!
Also please pass the word to our people living outside of the region to make sure they identify themselves as tribal members of the Native Village of Napaimute when answering the Census Form.
Thank you.
Created By mleary on 10/23/2009 03:18 PM
Last updated by mleary on 10/26/2009 03:05 PM
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