Introducing nativescount.com!
by James Tucker, Founder and Co-Convener
Welcome!
For our inaugural blog entry, we are going to introduce you to the site, its content, and how it will evolve.
The Natives Count coalition was formed in preparation for the 2020 Census. At the time, there were well established groups within the civil rights community focusing on improving census counts of historically undercounted populations. Those groups were – and continue to be – critical to coordination of strategy, policy, and resources on Census issues. But they are insufficient to address the unique challenges faced by Alaska Native and American Indian tribes, Native Hawaiians, and their organizations, and advocates. This coalition was organized to fill that void.
It all began with an initial Zoom meeting to bring together a few like-minded individuals concerned about the persistent undercount of Native Americans. We discussed how to overcome barriers to complete count efforts, especially those on tribal lands. We shared ideas of how to get ready for the decennial census. We identified gaps in resources that already were committed to Get-Out-The-Count (GOTC) efforts. We developed a plan to fill in the substantial gaps in those resources for educating Native households on filling out the census survey, lack of materials and information in Native languages, and for more in-person outreach in geographically isolated communities. Word spread quickly about our meeting. With each subsequent meeting, the number of participants increased. The heightened interest and collaboration contributed to the record resources committed for the 2020 Census to tribes in the Lower Forty-Eight, Alaska Natives, and urban Native populations.
At the height of the 2020 Census, we had at least weekly meetings. In response to the unique challenges posed by the global pandemic, they often were even more frequent. Subject Matter Experts, or SMEs, from the Census Bureau joined our meetings to coordinate evolving field strategies fashioned in response to COVID-19. Participants exchanged ideas of how they pivoted from long-planned in-person activities to virtual GOTC programs. Coalition meetings functioned as a clearinghouse for making resources and best practices available to everyone.
The most important lesson we learned from 2020 was the need to “evergreen,” or make permanent, the collaboration of coalition members. Outside of the decennial census, we immediately faced a variety of census issues critical to Native Americans. We offered feedback on how to address concerns that the Census Bureau’s use of differential privacy was negatively impacting the count on tribal lands. We described the lessons learned from the 2020 Census of what worked and what did not. We coordinated a sign-on letter in response to proposed changes to the race and ethnicity standards. We expressed concerns about potential changes and limitations to data products coming out of the 2020 Census. We worked together and with our partners at Census to promote improved participation in the American Community Survey, or ACS. Through monthly calls, Census SMEs continued to provide critical insights and education on data collection and products. A two day in-person ACS workshop held in partnership with NCAI in Sacramento helped us welcome Native Hawaiian partners to our collaborative efforts.
This website marks the logical evolution of the Natives Count coalition. It has a singular purpose: to serve as a clearinghouse and exchange of ideas, information, and resources for all things Census for American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians.
Website content and layout
The focus of this website, like the coalition itself, is on collaboration to improve the count and data resources available to America’s first peoples. To do that, the site strives to make a wide variety of tools and information more accessible. As you explore the site, you will notice that it is very intuitive. If there is a particular topic in which you are interested, you can quickly navigate there. The look and feel of the site are the products of an iterative process. We will always be striving to improve the accessibility of the site even as we continue to vastly expand the information and resources available.
Some of the pages on the site are not currently active. But that will change rapidly as we add content. By early 2026, expect to see a very comprehensive landing place for all things census for anyone interested in Native American complete count efforts and the resulting data products. This blog page is one example of the ongoing changes you can expect to see.
The website, like the Natives Count coalition itself, is the result of the insights of its users. To that end, your feedback and suggestions are not just welcome. They are essential to the vitality of the website and the coalition’s objectives. Please reach out any time, either to one of the co-conveners, Sandra Mitrovich or me, or send us a message through our “Contact Us” link.
Website rules of conduct
It seems counterintuitive that a website focused on the free exchange of information would have rules. But they are important to protecting the integrity of the site and the contributions of our Natives Count coalition members. Fortunately, the rules are few. We hope to keep it that way.
Our first rule is fundamental: please be respectful of other coalition members, their ideas, and their contributions. We certainly expect that we will have differing viewpoints on census issues. It is inevitable on any topic like the census that plays such a significant role for Native Americans. You should always feel free to offer your own perspective, even if it differs from that of others. But in doing so, we ask that you not engage in personal attacks or use language that belittles, demeans, or downplays the contributions of coalition members. We are all in this together.
Second, any comments, blogs, or contributions should focus on the census and not other issues. It is fair game to raise related topics. For example, you can discuss how you are coordinating GOTC efforts with a Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) campaign and the strategy for doing that successfully. Discussing voting work that focuses on a particular political party, candidate, or issue, such as working for or against a ballot measure, should not be a part of the conversation on this site. Similarly, we have found it is very effective to explain how federal, state, and local appropriations rely upon accurate census data. You should make that point. But in doing so, a discussion of a particular appropriations bill, agency budget, or government funding policy is not germane and cannot be part of your message on this site.
Third, partisanship is inappropriate and cannot be part of any discussion, information, or materials on this site. Our co-conveners, like most of our coalition members, receive 501(c)(3) funding. That requires politics to be left out of the coalition and this site. Please be respectful of this key limitation and leave politics and partisanship, whether in support of a party, candidate, or issue, at the doorstep before you click on our link. Consistent with that restriction, we cannot advertise any links to off-site material that violates this rule. At most, we only can provide a link to an organizational landing page with no further details about the information accessible from that page.
As one of the co-conveners, it is necessary for me to offer one additional note. All views I express, whether on this site or otherwise in my personal capacity, are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Department of Justice.
As co-conveners, Saundra and I will be reviewing any suggested content including blogs, comments, and other materials and information before they are posted. We expect few, if any, issues to arise in enforcing these rules. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
Contributions
This website only works as a clearinghouse if we have content. We encourage you to share your resources and to provide information (and links, if possible) to any planned meetings, speaking engagements, or webinars.
We also encourage coalition partners to join us in contributing blogs. Three of us will be kicking it off: Saundra, Brian Hui, and me. We expect to cover a range of interesting census topics, starting with this blog. Future blogs will cover the ACS, preparation for 2030 including the 2026 field tests, Federal Register notices on the census, data quality and privacy, and data products. Each blogger will have their own separate page and links to individual blogs. As we have add more blog entries, we also expect to add topical links that will allow anyone using our site to quickly identify and reach blogs in which they are interested.
If you would like to be a contributing blogger on census issues impacting Native Americans, please e-mail Sandra Mitrovich or me, or send us a message through our “Contact Us” link.
Looking ahead to 2026 … and beyond to 2030
We are excited to kick off our inaugural blog introducing the site. Stay tuned as we head into 2026. The New Year will bring more pages, more information, and more resources on all things census for American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians!