TULALIP — In 2002, the Tulalip Tribes wanted to build a homeless shelter and applied for a private grant that would help accomplish the goal.
They lost out on that grant, officials said, because many tribal members didn’t return their forms for the census in 2000. Most nontribal, more well-to-do residents of the reservation, however, were counted.
“It made it look like we made too much money out here,” said Steve Gobin, who was in charge of tribal social service programs at the time.
While the tribes eventually built their own shelter, it was scaled down and couldn’t serve as many people, Gobin said.
This was just one of many examples in which the tribes lost out on grants because members were undercounted, officials say.
This year, the tribes appear to be changing that story.
In 2000, an estimated 54 percent of people who live on the Tulalip reservation were counted in the census.
This year, the number is at 93 percent — and counting.
“We’re shooting for 100 percent,” said Deni Luna, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Census Bureau in Bothell.
The 93 percent figure is comparable to the response rate for the county’s nontribal areas, census officials said.
The response rate is up everywhere compared with 2000, on other reservations and in nontribal areas alike, census officials say. For this they credit better publicity.
Still, in many cases it’s because of the example set by the Tulalips. Late last year, the tribes launched a significant outreach effort, including mailings, posters, fliers, information in employee paychecks, e-mail campaigns and advertising in the tribal newspaper and TV station. Tribal members were recruited to pose for photos on the posters.
“I plan to showcase the Tulalip tribal effort as a model for the rest of the country,” said Jan McStay, assistant regional manager for a five-state area for the Census Bureau’ Bothell office. McStay was speaking at a media event last week to showcase the Tulalips’ efforts.
Tribal members have historically distrusted the government and often were not aware of the importance of the census to their people, officials said.
In late 2008, the seven-member Tulalip Board of Directors had a talk about the need for an improved performance in the census this time around, board chairman Mel Sheldon Jr. said.
The tribal board of directors approved spending $15,000 on the outreach efforts.
One of the earliest events was last August at the Tribal Canoe Journey event on the Suquamish reservation south of Kingston. Theresa Sheldon, governmental affairs director for the tribal confederation, obtained umbrella hats from the Census Bureau bearing the 2010 logo and passed them out to people on the beach.
Later, outreach efforts stressed the relationship between the census return rate and the resulting return in dollars from the federal government.
On March 31, shortly after census forms were mailed, the tribes organized a huge party in the reservation’s gym. More than 500 showed up.
“You had to bring your (census) form to the party,” Theresa Sheldon said.
Two days later, the Muckleshoot tribe in Auburn threw a similar party, followed two weeks later by the Quinault tribe on the Washington coast, said Tobi Iverson, a regional tribal liaison for the census bureau.
About 70 percent of people who live on the reservation returned their forms without being contacted by census canvassers. Since late April, 18 enumerators, nearly all of them reservation residents, have been contacting and counting more people.
Most people said they just forgot to send in their forms, enumerator Adrienne VanderWel said.
Between census years, the bureau employs some people to work full-time to determine which homes are occupied. The bureau also receives updated lists from the U.S. Postal Service. This is how pre-census figures are determined, officials said.
Near-final figures for Snohomish County are likely to be nailed down by autumn, said Leland Dart, who manages the Everett census office.
Tribal officials were beaming at last Thursday’s event about the success of their efforts.
“The census information has always been an impediment to us really being able to tell our story,” Gobin said later. “We’re going to get a much better picture of where we’re at today to help us plan our future.”
Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439; sheets@heraldnet.com.
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