National and tribal leaders and the U.S. Census Bureau are putting extra effort into encouraging Native Americans to participate in the 2010 Census count.
“The goal of the 2010 Census is to paint a Portrait of America and each and every Native person who is counted makes a huge difference in ensuring the face of Indian Country is truly a part of this portrait,” said Derek Valdo, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) Southwest Area vice-president, at a news conference last Thursday during a 2010 Census Portrait of America Road Tour stop in Albuquerque.
Valdo was among several national and local tribal leaders and U.S. Census officials touting the importance of participating in the count.
Valdo, along with Amadeo Shije, U.S. Census Tribal Partnership Coordinator of the Denver Region, encouraged tribes to participate as the data is used extensively for the distribution of funds to state, tribal and local governments. It forms the basis for more than $1 billion that flows into Indian Country.
NCAI has joined with the National Call to Action with the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, which is made up of the Asian American Justice Center, the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund, the NAACP and other national organizations.
NCAI has created the Indian Country Counts campaign, in partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau, to ensure an accurate count of all Native people.
The Indian Country Counts strategy includes a Web site with a downloadable tool kit for tribes, news about the Census, contact information for federal workers, Census job postings, updates from the Census Bureau, a discussion board and stories about the Census across Indian Country.
I live in Dulce, NM. I've been waiting for my form and I've recieved nothing. Nobody in my community has. How can we participate if we've never recieved the form.
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