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SEPTEMBER 20, 2000

On Tuesday, US Commerce Secretary Norman Y. Mineta commended the nation for improving its participation in the Census 2000, but most reservations failed to meet their target set by the Census and fell far below the average national response rate.

Of the 117 reservations whose response rates were reported by the Census Bureau, only 32, or 27 percent, met or exceeded their target rate. Additionally, only 14 out of 117 met or exceeded the national response rate of 67 percent.

The Census Bureau tracked the response rates for particular reservations as part of its "'90 Plus Five" program. Participation in the Census had been decreasing over the past three decades, so the government challenged governors, mayors, and tribal leaders to improve their response rates by at least five percentage points from 1990.

The program appears to have worked for some reservations. While the Navajo Nation, for instance, had a final response rate of 37 percent, far below the national average, the tribe exceeded its target rate of 13 percent.

The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt River Reservation in Arizona also greatly exceeded its target rate of 5 percent. But the tribe's final response rate was 54 percent, also below the national average.

Nationally, Americans participated in the Census 2000 in record numbers. Census Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt said the government had predicted only a 61 percent response rate, due to a steady decline in participation over the years.

However, as with reservations, not all cities, towns, counties, and other governmental entities met the government's expectations. Only 24 percent met their target rate.

The final response rates reported by the Census are based on percentage of homes that mailed their questionnaire, filed it online, answered via telephone, or returned a "Be Counted" form. The final rates for reservations who were not part of the "'90 Plus Plan" were not immediately available yesterday.

View selecte Reservation Response Rates:
Tribal response rates: 1990-2000 (The Talking Circle 9/20)

Get the Reservation Response Rates:
Census 2000 Final Response Rates (US Census September 2000)

Related Stories:
Native population on the rise (The Talking Circle 08/31)
Census data by state (The Talking Circle 08/31)
Reservations respond to Census (The Talking Circle 4/20)

Relevant Links:
The US Census - www.census.gov
'90 Plus Five - www.hakwan.com