ASSOCIATED PRESS
CASPER, Wyo.
– Wyoming state and tribal officials are working to ensure Native Americans are
accurately counted in the 2020 Census.
The “Casper
Star-Tribune” reported advocates and officials are consulting with tribal
leaders and planning an advertising campaign to attract attention to the U.S.
Census Bureau’s canvassing efforts. Officials say they hope the outreach leads
to a more accurate count of Native American residents in Wyoming, who are
believed to have been under-counted in the past.
Census data
says 2.7 percent of Wyoming’s population identifies as Native American.
The figures
indicate about 27,000 people live on the Wind River Reservation west of Casper
and off-reservation trust land, with about 7,800 identifying as Native
American.
The Census
Bureau says American Indians and Alaska Natives living on reservations were
under-counted by nearly 5 percent in 2010.
