The Complete Count Committee made it a point to inform Community members about the census at the Mul Chu Tha parade in Sacaton, AZ.
SACATON- “It’s in our hands,” is the slogan for the 2010 Census, and there is no place more indicative of that slogan than in Native American communities. The 2010 Census is in full operation with enumerators visiting residences throughout the Community. A snapshot of the Gila River Indian Community is taken when census workers visit homes to get accurate data on the population of all seven districts.
“The census has been going all-out to get the best census count; especially for Native Americans,” said Delia M. Carlyle, U.S. Census Tribal Partnership Specialist. Carlyle, former Ak-Chin Indian Community Chairwoman, also works with Ak-Chin, Tohono O’odham Nation, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, Pascua Yaqui, Cocopah and the Tuscon Indian Center.
Carlyle presented a certificate of appreciation to the Community on behalf of the U.S. Census Bureau on Apr. 7, 2010 during a regular Council meeting.
The U.S. Census Bureau has hired approximately 60 Community members to gather census data in order to benefit from the more than $400 billion distributed annually to tribal, state and local governments. The enumerators have been in the field since Mar. 29 and have gathered data at the detention centers, Caring House, and the Healing House in addition to residences. Testing for new workers closes Apr. 16.
The positions have benefited a wide cross-section of Community members. “There’s a whole range of people from students to homemakers,” said Linelle Blackwater, Field Operations Supervisor. The workers are trained on safety and other professional conduct during this critical census.
Tapping into available workers within the Community is key for an accurate count of GRIC. “That’s really important because they can relate to the people in the homes,” Blackwater said.
The Community was severely undercounted during previous counts and in order for GRIC to benefit from federal dollars each member is asked to list the federally recognized named of their tribe in order to avoid confusion. On question nine of the 2010 Census questionnaire Community members must write “Gila River Indian Community.” “We’ve been undercounted too long,” Carlyle said.
The census workers are challenged by enthusiastic pets and unreliable roads. The increasing heat will also test field employees since field work will last until July. In Dec. 2010 the Census Bureau delivers population counts to the president to show state populations and number of seats apportioned to each state for the Senate and in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The new census form has been designed in order to get the most information in the least amount of time. “It takes less than ten minutes,” Carlyle said during her presentation before Council. Questionnaires are also available at select public sites and follow- up interviews will be conducted thru Aug. when clarification is needed to determine if changes should be made to respondents’ household rosters.
Outreach and promotional activities have been conducted in the Community since mid-2009 by GRIC’s Complete Count Committee who’ve been visible in raising the profile of the 2010 Census. Address canvassing was a major milestone when census workers systematically canvassed all of GRIC.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|