Alaska Natives Urged — Down to the Wire — to Return Census Forms

Tribes and Native organizations made a last-ditch effort on Thursday to urge Alaska Natives to return their U.S. Census forms before the April 16 deadline.

As of yesterday, only 57 percent of Alaskan households had returned their Census forms, putting the state in last place in terms of participation rates, according to the U.S. Census.

Organizations like the National Congress of American Indians and the First Alaskans Institute were encouraging Alaska Natives to take action.

“As Alaska Natives, we must participate in the Census, even if we think it is an inconvenience or intrusive; the link is too important to ignore — turning in your census form leads to funding for important services for our peoples, and it impacts our political voice in state lawmaking,” said Elizabeth Medicine Crow, vice president of the First Alaskans Institute and director of the Alaska Native Policy Center, in a press release issued yesterday by the National Congress of American Indians.

“This is one of the opportunities for Indian Country to be heard,” said Jacqueline Johnson Pata, NCAI’s executive director. “For states like Alaska, which depend on the data for housing and other services, it’s so vital to get an accurate count.”