Overview:
Tribal leaders warn that proposed U.S. Census Bureau changes could erase critical data on American Indians and Alaska Natives, undermine tribal representation and threaten federal funding for Native communities.
Tribal leaders oppose the U.S. Census Bureau’s proposed changes to how it collects information about Americans. The proposed rules would affect who gets counted and what questions are asked, with direct implications for congressional representation and federal
Under the proposed changes, the bureau would add new “residence criteria” to identify a person’s “usual residence” and determine whether they should be counted. It would also potentially add a question about an individual’s citizenship status. Under the proposal, only U.S. citizens and green card holders would be counted. These changes could fundamentally alter how communities are counted and directly affect congressional redistricting.
The second proposed change would eliminate questions about race and ethnicity from the Census, erasing a critical source of data on American Indians and Alaska Natives. The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) said Native communities already face chronic undercounting and persistent underinvestment.
Dr. Aaron Payment opposes the proposed changes. He serves on the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians Tribal Council and the Executive Committee of NCAI. For four decades, he has worked on initiatives to strengthen tribal collaboration with the Census Bureau and ensure accurate counts of Native communities.
“Federal appropriations are dependent on Census Counts,” Payment said. “Eliminating tribally related questions, can only disadvantage federal appropriations to tribes. I should also add that while I am a high school dropout at 15, I hold three masters and a doctorate and did my own quantitative data rotation and analysis in my dissertation while doing a deep drive on Tribal data collection and analysis.”
Without reliable data collection, the federal government cannot fully assess whether it is meeting its legally binding trust obligations to tribal nations. The Census Bureau has collected information on race since the first U.S. Census in 1790. Many tribal leaders are asking: Why now?
The bureau held a virtual tribal consultation on Oct. 2. According to the bureau’s event page, it provided two weeks’ notice of the consultation, rather than the standard 30-day notice it aims to provide, to ensure it could meet operational deadlines ahead of the 2030 Census.
However, tribal leaders said the process was rushed and that they did not consider the virtual meeting a formal consultation. They noted that not all tribal nations participating in the call had an opportunity to voice their concerns. Many urged the Census Bureau to hold formal consultations with tribal leaders and provide sufficient time for meaningful participation before considering potential changes for the 2040 Census.
Tribal leaders from the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians in Wisconsin said, “We urge the Census to reject this proposal.” They warned that eliminating race and ethnicity questions would deprive the federal government of critical tools for identifying American Indian and Alaska Native communities, potentially placing those communities at greater risk.
The proposed changes could affect all Americans, and the federal government is seeking public input. The public comment period ended on Tuesday, Oct. 13, while tribal leaders have until Monday, Nov. 2, to submit their comments.
