Tribe embraces census for 2010

HOGANSBURG — The St. Regis Mohawk tribe is hoping to buck the trend for next year's census and get more residents to respond to the government's head count in 2010.

Historically, tribe members have balked at providing the federal government with their personal information. Recent census counts have the response rates for American Indian populations at about 12 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

This time, the tribe hopes for a better response, largely because a former chief is going around educating people about the national head count. Alma Ransom, a chief from 1995 to 2003, is reaching out to communities across the region, which extends from Maine to Pennsylvania, to get them to participate.

"I'm well known and I communicate well and I know these organizations," said Ms. Ransom, who is working as a partnership specialist with the U.S. Census Bureau. "They're using me to use that knowledge. Let's say I'm trusted."

Though Ms. Ransom lives on the reservation and is a former chief, she says she is not making any efforts with the tribe that she is not making anywhere else in her coverage area.

"The job is to have everybody do it. We would like everybody to be counted," she said.

She has been working to spread the word about the census for two years, making appearances at both the New York State and Malone fairs, talking on the radio and visiting with American Indian organizations. Between now and March, she will visit as many schools as she can to encourage students and parents to participate. People 15 and older can fill out the forms.

The census data are used to determine how many representatives each state gets in the House of Representatives and to distribute federal funding to communities.

"People around here are very skittish about government agencies coming around and collecting information," said David T. Staddon, tribal director of public information.

This time, the tribe is making a greater effort to encourage residents to participate and to inform them about the process, including notices in the tribal newsletter and Indian Time newspaper and radio announcements.

"How close we're going to get to getting a 100 percent accurate count is yet to be determined," he said. "I think there is going to be some resistance."