
- Details
- By Levi Rickert
TOKSOOK BAY, Alaska — One day after celebrating her 90th birthday, Lizzie Chimiugak became the first American citizen to formally be counted in the 2020 Census on Tuesday.
Chimiugak, an Alaska Native was counted at her home in Toksook Bay, a remote Alaska Native village, was chosen by the Census Bureau as the first place in the United States to begin the official count that is mandated by the U.S. Constitution to occur every 10 years.
Census statistics are used to determine the number of seats each state holds in the U.S. House of Representatives and inform how billions of dollars in federal funds will be allocated by state, local, and federal lawmakers every year for the next 10 years.
After being counted, Chimiugak participated in a Native village dance ceremony. Villagers listened to a program that included the importance of being counted in the 2020 Census and to discuss climate change, another issue impacting Native Alaskan lives.
Toksook Bay is a village located on Nelson Island along the Bering Sea in southwestern Alaska. Census takers must get a head start in rural, remote areas like Toksook Bay when the ground is frozen and prior to the spring thaw, when residents leave to fish, hunt and seek out warm-weather jobs.
More than half of households on tribal lands across the country have nontraditional addresses where the Census Bureau can’t mail a census form. With no at-home mail delivery and a short window to respond before seasons change, receiving an invitation this way would be nearly impossible for remote Alaska residents.
That is why the Census Bureau worked with Alaska Native leaders to determine the best way to count people living on their lands. In Toksook Bay and other remote areas of Alaska, census takers will visit people at home and will fill out their questionnaires in person.
More Stories Like This
Lawsuit Filed by Fort Belknap Indian Community Against Greenberg Traurig, LLP Reads Like a Movie ScriptSpecial Edition Native Bidaské: Oglala Composer Mato Wayuhi
Ho-Chunk Trucker Spreads MMIP Message, Offers Safe Haven from Domestic Violence
Native News Weekly (September 24, 2023): D.C. Briefs
Assemblyman Ramos Honored with Award for Long Service to California Native American Commission
Native News is free to read.
We hope you enjoyed the story you've just read. For the past dozen years, we’ve covered the most important news stories that are usually overlooked by other media. From the protests at Standing Rock and the rise of the American Indian Movement (AIM), to the ongoing epidemic of Murdered and Missing Indigenous People (MMIP) and the past-due reckoning related to assimilation, cultural genocide and Indian Boarding Schools.
Our news is free for everyone to read, but it is not free to produce. That’s why we’re asking you to make a donation to help support our efforts. Any contribution — big or small — helps. Most readers donate between $10 and $25 to help us cover the costs of salaries, travel and maintaining our digital platforms. If you’re in a position to do so, we ask you to consider making a recurring donation of $12 per month to join the Founder's Circle. All donations help us remain a force for change in Indian Country and tell the stories that are so often ignored, erased or overlooked.
Donate to Native News Online today and support independent Indigenous journalism. Thank you.