Smoke Signals 3
MARCH 15, 2012
Census sycrveys coanDd! meaira mnxoce girainitis
By Ron Karten
Smoke Signals staff writer
The Census Bureau is back and
the Grand Ronde Tribe is encour
aging Tribal members to partici
pate. The 2010 U.S. Census is over,
but what had been a once-a-decade
exercise to count every American
has, since 2005, expanded into a
continual exercise in information
collection.
The official census is down to ask
ing 10 questions, but the American
Community Survey, another prod
uct of the Census Bureau, has taken
over the detail work with a 28-page
questionnaire that comes monthly
to 300,000 randomly selected ad
dresses across the country. That
sample translates into no more than
a handful of local addresses.
On a national basis, the American
Community Survey covers about
12.5 percent of the population every
five years. In areas with popula
tions smaller than 20,000, like the
Grand Ronde community, it takes
five years to collect a representative
sample of responses large enough to
ensure that no single answer will
point to a specific address.
In addition, Census Bureau work
ers emphasize, the random selec
tion process chooses addresses, not
individuals.
In 72 years, the details from each
year's survey are turned over to the
National Archives where it becomes
a treasure trove for studying gene
alogy and many other disciplines.
The second American Community
Survey five-year report, covering
the years 2006-10, came out at the
beginning of this year. Beyond the
increased detail provided by these
surveys, its value is in providing
more up-to-date information than
a 10-year census form could ever
provide, said Linda Clark, a dis
semination specialist for the Cen
sus Bureau. Clark conducts free
training sessions teaching how to
1
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Wendy Woods, middle, field representative for the U.S. Census Bureau, talks
with Tribal Council about getting their support with the bureau's American
Community Survey effort to increase Tribal member cooperation if they get
randomly selected to take the survey. Sitting behind Woods is Linda Clark, a
dissemination specialist for the Census Bureau.
access the data online.
In the American Community Sur
vey, the Census Bureau works with
complex mathematical formulae
that allow the sampling of very few
Americans to represent the entire
population. With the 10-year cen
sus, when every American is asked
to return their survey, there is no
margin of error. Examples of this
are seen in the numbers of individu
als in a community or the number
of homeowners. As the sample size
shrinks, as with the American
Community Survey, the margin of
error grows.
What the American Commu
nity Survey lacks in accuracy,
however, is made up for in the
sheer breadth of information they
develop. The surveys go into spe
cifics of education, employment
and housing.
For many reasons, Census Bu
reau workers sometimes encounter
resistance to filling out the forms.
"People are overwhelmed," said
Wendy Woods, a field representa
tive for the Census Bureau, who
Committee & Special Event
Board meeting days and times
Below is the most current information on the meeting days and times
for Tribal Committees and Special Event Boards:
Ceremonial Hunt Board meets as needed. Chair: Shonn Leno.
Cultural Trust Board meets at 4 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each
month. Chair: Perri McDaniel.
Culture Committee meets at 1 p.m. the first Wednesday of the month
in Modular No. 3. Chair: TBD.
Education Committee meets at 5:15 p.m. on the first Monday of the
month in the Adult Education Building. Chair: Jon George.
Elders' Committee meets at 10 a.m. the third Wednesday of the month
in the Elders' Activity Center. Chair: Gladys Hobbs.
Enrollment Committee meets quarterly in Room 204 of the Governance
Building. Acting Chair: Robert Schmid.
Fish & Wildlife Committee meets at 5:30 p.m. the second Tuesday of
the month at the Natural Resources Building. Chair: Harold Lyon.
Health Committee meets at 10 a.m. the second Wednesday of the
month in the Tribal Wellness Center. Acting Chair: Patti Tom-Martin.
Powwow Special Event Board meets at 5 p.m. the first Thursday of
the month at the Tribal Community Center. Chair: Dana Ainam.
Rodeo Special Event Board meets at 6 p.m. the first Thursday of the
month at the Tribal Rodeo Office. Chair: Harold Lyon.
Social Services Committee meets at 4 p.m. the second Monday of the
month in the Social Services Conference Room. Chair: Jenny Sanchez.
Timber Committee meets at 5 p.m. the second Thursday of the month
at the Natural Resources Building. Chair: Bob Mercier.
Veterans Special Event Board meets at 4 p.m. the first Tuesday of the
month in the Tribal Community Center. Chair: Dakota Whitecloud.
collects the data. "They have other
priorities. And they worry about
confidentiality."
Census workers are reassuring
about how seriously the bureau
guards confidential information.
They are bound legally to keep the
information they collect private.
Native Americans, of all Ameri
cans, know the sting of broken
federal promises, but the benefits
of an accurate census count are so
valuable that both Census Bureau
workers and Tribal leaders are
pushing for responses from every
body in the Tribal community.
The recent visit by the Census
Bureau workers to Tribal Council
on March 1 came to redouble that
effort. American Community sur
veyors have seen that when Tribal
Councils support the survey effort
there is better cooperation in Tribal
members completing the surveys.
Also as part of that effort, Census
Bureau workers do everything they
can to put those surveyed at ease.
Surveyors often come from the
communities they survey, and the
workers patiently visit households
where the surveys have not been
returned, again and again until all
the forms are filled out and filed.
For the Tribe, more complete re
sults translate into more accurate
federal funding, meaning higher
dollar amounts. If the survey for
a Tribal member address is not
returned, for example, that address
is not counted in the formula for
allocating federal and state grants
to the Tribe.
"This is one of our important
sources of funding," said Tribal
Council Chairwoman Cheryle A.
Kennedy, "and my goal would be to
have accurate information."
In an effort to reassure members
of the Tribe who might be surveyed
in the future, and to improve par
ticipation rates, Census workers
Woods and Clark came to Grand
Ronde to describe the process to
Tribal Council, some department
managers and staffers and to seek
their help in supporting the effort.
The information from the Ameri
can Community Survey can "help
the Tribe monitor progress toward
its goals," said Woods.
One of the Tribe's goals, however,
is to tweak the methodology by
which the Census Bureau counts
Tribal members, said Kennedy.
No question on these surveys
asks for a sign of being enrolled in
a Tribe, like an enrollment num
ber, and particularly in the cities
Indians self-select their Native
American lineage. Some are mem
bers of the Grand Ronde and other
Tribes, and some are not, mud
dying the results, meaning that
federal and state granting decisions
may be short-changing federally
recognized Tribes. The difference
could be in the tens of thousands
in the Portland area alone, Ken
nedy said.
Kennedy also pointed to a recent
TV news report detailing continu
ing poverty among the Lakota
Sioux in South Dakota.
"(Native American) needs are
not being met," she said, because
Native people are "hidden in that
data."
"We rely upon what you all do, but
I would advocate you take a Tribal
view (for population numbers),
rather than (surveying people on)
Tribal lands. That would give you
a better result."
Starting with the 2010 Census,
the bureau has agreed to a larger
Grand Ronde Census Designated
Place or CDP.
This change started with the
Grand Ronde Tribal Planning
and Grants Department when
manager Kim Rogers noted that
the CDP boundary for Grand
Ronde in the 2000 Census was
only a small area near Highway
18. It excluded Tribal housing and
many other neighborhoods in the
community.
The Tribe then worked with
Polk and Yamhill counties and the
Mid-Willamette Valley Council of
Governments to request approval
of a CDP that included the entire
community of Grand Ronde.
"The ACS survey is helpful in
making our arguments for federal
funding to the Grand Ronde com
munity," Rogers said. "It's also
helpful for members nationwide to
respond if surveyed."
"This is the missing part of the
census," said Volker Mell, GIS
coordinator for the Tribe. He uses
information from these surveys to
create maps for many Tribal uses.
As one example, he said, "The data
will help us figure out exactly how
many people are living in our ceded
lands."
Family Movie Night on March 23
Family Movie Night, sponsored by the Tribe's Youth Prevention Program
and Community Awareness Team, will show the Adam Sandler comedy
"Jack and Jill" at 5:30 p.m. Friday, March 23, in the Tribal gym.
Dinner will include chicken nuggets, fish sticks, tater tots and cookies.
Seventy-four people attended the February Movie Night.
For more information, contact Youth Prevention Assistant Shannon
Stanton at 503-879-1489 or Shannon.stantongrandronde.org. B