Eskimos Counted First in 2010 U.S. Census

The count for the 2010 census started on Monday in a remote corner of Alaska.
Eskimos Counted First in 2010 U.S. Census
Census Bureau Director Robert M. Groves traveling by dogsled to conduct the first count of the 2010 census in the Inupiat Eskimo village of Noorvik, Alaska. (AFP/Getty Images)
1/25/2010
Updated:
10/1/2015
<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/ag106.jpg" alt="Census Bureau Director Robert M. Groves traveling by dogsled to conduct the first count of the 2010 census in the Inupiat Eskimo village of Noorvik, Alaska.  (AFP/Getty Images)" title="Census Bureau Director Robert M. Groves traveling by dogsled to conduct the first count of the 2010 census in the Inupiat Eskimo village of Noorvik, Alaska.  (AFP/Getty Images)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1823675"/></a>
Census Bureau Director Robert M. Groves traveling by dogsled to conduct the first count of the 2010 census in the Inupiat Eskimo village of Noorvik, Alaska.  (AFP/Getty Images)
The count for the 2010 census started on Monday in a remote corner of Alaska north of the Arctic Circle in the Inupiat Eskimo village of Noorvik. In 2000, the village had a population of 634. Most recent Census Bureau estimates put the population at about 660.

U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Groves personally kicked off the 2010 survey of the population in the village. He was accompanied by Ralph Lee, director of Seattle Regional Office, U.S. Census Bureau, and the Lt. Gov. of Alaska, Craig Campbell. By law, media were not allowed to accompany them.

“Getting an accurate count here will set the standard for the rest of the country,” said Groves in a statement before the beginning.

Groves traveled by dogsled to Noorvik, where he met with residents and leaders before walking to the home where the first enumeration took place. The temperature was around 5 degrees below zero. Groves was accompanied by a translator and local census taker.

A vast area and extreme weather make Alaska one of the most difficult states to gather census data.

Residents of Anchorage, Fairbanks, and other larger Alaska cities will get 2010 census questionnaires by mail in mid-March like the rest of the country.

Noorvik is without physical roads in and out and must be approached by bush plane, dogsled, and snowmobile while the ground is still frozen. Residents must be counted in the census before mid-March when the ground is thawing and the Inupiat Eskimos leave for hunting and fishing grounds.

“Remote Alaska is a huge area,” said Deni Luna, a media specialist with the 2010 census. Ms. Luna says the state of Alaska, in terms of land mass and outlying islands, when laid out across the United States would stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

“It is an enormous challenge, and Alaska typically has the lowest census participation rate of any state. That is why we go to extreme ways to engage everyone.”

Luna added that in the past they once sent a couple of people in to hike 20 miles on snowshoes to reach a fur trapper.

“It is essential that everyone gets counted,” said Luna. “It is constitutionally mandated and it is essential to our democracy. It is how we distribute our federal funding and how we apportion political representation.”

The census count for the rest of the country is in mid-March. Census takers will be out in April and May visiting those who don’t respond by mail. The Census Bureau will hire upward of 1 million people to go out and count those who do not turn in their forms. Final census information will be delivered to President Obama by the end of 2010.

The first data available in March 2011 will be information needed in determining state political boundaries. The rest of the data will be released in batches later in 2011.

Census data taken every 10 years is used in allocating federal funding among many others uses. State population data is used to determine how many representatives a state has in the U. S. House of Representatives, although the number is currently set at 435 by law.