A: Contact Victor Paternoster about attending a tribal working meeting meeting at (509) 747-4994 or census@kauffmaninc.com.

A: To work in partnership with federally recognized tribes and reach out to their communities to promote the importance of a complete and accurate census count to emphasize that an accurate count positively affects their funding for tribal programs. Our plan also includes outreach to state recognized tribes, urban and rural AIAN populations, and AIAN organizations and media.

A: The Tribal Governments Liaison Program's goal is to nurture on-going partnerships between American Indian and Alaska Native governments and the U.S. Census Bureau. Tribal leaders will be requested to designate a tribal liaison to serve as their representative during all phases of the 2010 Census. Tribal officials and their tribal governments liaison will serve as facilitators and sources of information between the tribe and the U.S. Census Bureau.

A: Forming a Tribal Complete Count Committee (CCC) is one of the activities that the Tribal Governments Liaison can use to help promote the census within their tribal community. The CCC Program consists of community members authorized, on behalf of their tribal government, to conduct a 2010 Census awareness campaign throughout the tribe's jurisdiction.

A: The Local Update of Census Addresses program, also known as LUCA, is a decennial census geographic partnership program that will allow the Census Bureau to benefit from tribal knowledge in updating its Master Address File (MAF) for the 2010 Census. Tribal governments can contribute to a complete enumeration of their reservation by reviewing and commenting on the list of housing units and group quarters addresses that the Census Bureau will use to deliver questionnaires within their community.

A: The Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS) is conducted yearly to collect and maintain up-to-date information about legal boundaries, names and official status of counties, incorporated places, minor civil divisions and federally recognized American Indian reservations and/or off-reservation trust lands. The U.S. Census Bureau plans to include the Alaska Native Regional Corporations (ANRCs) in the 2009 BAS.

A: The Tribal Statistical Areas Program (TSAP) is offered as a part of the 2010 Decennial Census. It is a comprehensive opportunity to update or delineate, as appropriate, the following statistical geographic areas:

• Alaska Native Village Statistical Areas (ANVSAs);
• Oklahoma Tribal Statistical Areas (OTSAs) and their tribal subdivisions;
• Tribal Designated Statistical Areas (TDSAs);
• State Designated Tribal Statistical Areas (SDTSAs);
• Tribal Tracts and Tribal Block Groups; and
• Census Designated Places (CDPs).

In addition, federally-recognized tribes with a reservation and/or off-reservation trust land will be able to suggest features to use as census block boundaries. The TSAP also will provide an opportunity for Alaska Native officials to review the regional boundaries for Alaska Native Regional Corporations (ANRCs). A table summarizing TSAP participation options is attached to this document.

A: ANVSAs are statistical geographic entities representing the residences, permanent and/or seasonal, for Alaska Native members of the defining Alaska Native village (ANV) and that are located within the ANV's historic/traditional region. Federally recognized ANVs will be eligible to delineate ANVSAs for the 2010 Census. The specific purpose of an ANVSA is to provide statistical data for the population and housing within an ANV's historic/traditional location. Each ANVSA should represent the most densely populated portion of each ANV and should encompass a populated area in which Alaska Natives represent a majority of the population during at least one season of the year.

A: OTSAs are identified and delineated by the U.S. Census Bureau in conjunction with federally recognized tribes and are intended to provide a geographic framework for tabulating statistical data for federally recognized American Indian tribes that had a reservation prior to Oklahoma statehood. All OTSAs must be contained within the current boundaries of Oklahoma. OTSAs primarily represent the former reservation boundaries, and are not required to conform to any other geographic entity (except state) for which the Census Bureau tabulates data.

A: Both TDSAs and SDTSAs are intended to provide recognized tribes without a reservation and/or off-reservation trust land with meaningful statistical data for a geographic area relevant to their current data needs and present day location. The intent is to collect and tabulate data analogous to that provided tribes with a reservation and/or off-reservation trust land. Each TDSA and SDTSA should represent a compact, contiguous area containing a statistically significant concentration of people who identify with a specific federally-or state-recognized American Indian tribe and in which there is structured or organized tribal activity. TDSAs and SDTSAs are not intended to represent all of a tribe's historic, traditional territory, or the location of all of the constituent tribal members. A TDSA or SDTSA may not include areas located within an existing American Indian reservation, off-reservation trust land, Oklahoma tribal statistical area (OTSA), or any other American Indian and Alaska Native geographic entity for which the Census Bureau tabulates data.

A: No, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) defines American Indian or Alaska Native as a person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America), and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment. This definition was developed in cooperation with federal agencies and community leaders to provide consistent and comparable data on the AIAN population throughout the federal government for an array of statistical and administrative programs. The U.S. Census Bureau adheres to the OMB guidance.