Census takers will be visiting homes on the Colville Indian Reservation between now and Sept. 30, the Colville Tribes said last week. 

“The visits are designed to reach every household which has not yet completed their 2020 census form and give every resident an opportunity to participate in the census,” an Aug. 21 press release states. “While the Reservation is closed to non-essential visitors, the census enumerators are deemed essential and are permitted access to the Reservation due to the importance of census participation.”

Rodney Cawston, chairman of the Colville Tribes, said that “it is imperative that every single tribal member and resident of the Colville Reservation be counted in the census. An accurate and full census count ensures proper funding by the federal government in both regular budget matters and in extraordinary circumstances such as the current pandemic. The count is also essential for fair resource distribution and political representation in state and local government. I encourage everyone to cooperate if you are visited by a census taker.”

“Although the Colville Tribes is one of the largest tribes in the Pacific Northwest,” Cawston continued, “we are almost in last place at 35% for our self-response rate for responding to the 2020 census.”

Cawston stressed the importance of tribal members identifying as American Indian or Alaska Native on the forms, particularly for “Person 1,” which will lead the household to be counted as an American Indian or Alaska Native household.

The Census Bureau had initially planned July 31, 2020 as the end date for its counting effort, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the deadline was pushed back to Sept. 30.