PLUMMER, Idaho – Members of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe are accompanying U.S. Census workers on their rounds of the Pacific Northwest reservation, Ernie Stensgar, vice chairman of the tribe, said.

“Our people are in a rural area here in northern Idaho, spread across the reservation along country roads. They are hard to find and some of them don’t like to open their doors to people they don’t know; especially non-Indians and government people.”

Originally the tribe roamed more than four million acres of grass-covered hills, camas-prairie, forested mountains, lakes, marshes and river habitat in northern Idaho, eastern Washington and western Montana.

“I do think it’s important that the tribal members be counted,” Stensgar said, explaining why the tribe has created guides for the census takers.

“We invest a lot of money into services for our people and we try to stretch those dollars as far as we can. We’re finding that numbers count. Some of the grants we apply for related to housing, social services, law enforcement – it’s very important that we get accurate population counts.” There’s a new kind of strength in numbers.

Tribal governments also get federal grants for job training, roads and health care, all based on census information. The figures are key to implementing many federal laws and are needed to monitor compliance with the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. State governments use the data to determine congressional, state and local voting districts.

As important as it is, that information has been difficult to collect. American Indians have the lowest census participation rates of all racial and ethnic groups in the country.

According to one census official, approximately 24 percent of Native Americans and Alaska Natives went uncounted in the 1990 census. That figure dropped to an estimated 12 percent uncounted in 2000. Still, too many uncounted.

The low count generated efforts by numerous tribes to improve the process during the 2010 Census.

“We’ve worked really hard on getting out the vote and I think we need to work really hard on the census too,” Stensgar said.

While escorts are smoothing the way for census workers on the Coeur d’Alene Reservation, other tribes are using strong incentives.

On the Colville Reservation near Wenatchee, Wash., the tribe is giving away four new flat screen television sets to encourage participation in this year’s census. The response by tribal members has been enthusiastic, with some calling the tribal office asking, “Where is the census taker?”

Originally nomadic and non-farming, the 12 bands that compose the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation now live on 1.4 million acres. When last counted they were more than 9,000 strong.

Along with the leaders of the Colville and Coeur d’Alene tribes, leaders of other Pacific Northwest tribes have recognized the importance of counting every member. Census liaison representatives are at work with many tribes and the results are an increase in interest among tribal members. Tribal governments have found out that higher numbers from a full count can help fill the tribe’s bank account with grant and government program money.

The 1870 census schedule was the first to list “Indian” as a choice. Native Americans were enumerated earlier, however. The 1860 census recorded more than 40,000 Native Americans.