And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: >From Victor's Pechanga.net Martha http://www2.startribune.com/stOnLine/cgi-bin/article?thisStory=80777159 Tribes' cooperation important for next census By TIM TALLEY / Associated Press Writer OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- American Indian tribes have a lot to lose if their numbers are undercounted in the 2000 census, the director of the U.S. Census Bureau said Tuesday. " We take very, very seriously trying to do an accurate count of the American Indian population, " Director Ken Prewitt said during a Tribal Governments Conference where census officials encouraged Indian leaders to support the millennium census. " Not all of the American people cooperate at the level with which we would hope, " Prewitt said. Census officials estimate that American Indians were undercounted by 12.5 percent in the 1990 Census -- the highest of any minority group. " That was really a very discouraging undercount, " Prewitt said. In Oklahoma, which is home to about 260, 000 American Indians, more than any other state, Prewitt said the undercount was about 5 percent. " It' s a very dispersed population, " he said. " In past censuses, it' s been uneven." Prewitt said the Census Bureau is forming partnerships with tribal leaders and hopes to organize " complete count committees" with each of Oklahoma' s nearly 40 recognized tribes to encourage cooperation with census takers. " We think we will count the Indian population in the U.S. better in 2000, " Prewitt said. Census statistics help determine how and where about $200 billion in federal dollars for housing, education and other programs are spent each year. " There are benefits, " Prewitt said. " It' s really important, " said Perry Beaver, principal chief of the Creek Nation. " A lot of the programs are based on population." Prewitt said some ethnic groups are unwilling to cooperate in the census because of cultural and demographic issues, such as migrant residents and those who do not understand English. Others refuse to cooperate because of indifference, cynicism and fear, he said. " We' re counting people who don' t particularly want to be found, " Prewitt said. He said census data is confidential and information provided by individuals is not shared with any other government agency. " The concerns are understandable, " he said. " But there' s nothing that would give somebody grounds for that concern. " At no time have we ever shared any individual census data. We only share census data in aggregated statistical form, " he said. Copyright 1999 Associated Press. Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ UPDATES: CAMP JUSTICE http://shell.webbernet.net/~ishgooda/oglala/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
