Page 2 - aruba-today-20200120

A2 UP FRONT
Monday 20 January 2020

Continued from Front guage can be very specif-
In this isolated outpost that ic to a culture.
looks little like other towns For example, there's no
in the rest of the United equivalent for "apportion-
States, the official attempt ment" -- the system used
to count everyone living in to determine representa-
the country will begin Tues- tion in Congress — in the
day. language Denaakk'e, also
The decennial U.S. census known as Koyukon Atha-
has started in rural Alaska, bascan. So translators
out of tradition and neces- used terms for divvying up
sity, ever since the U.S. pur- moose meat in a village as
chased the territory from an example for finding cul-
Russia in 1867. tural relevancy, said Veri di
Once the spring thaw hits, Suvero, executive director
the town empties as many of the agency partner Alas-
residents scatter for tra- ka Public Interest Research
ditional hunting and fish- Group
ing grounds, and the fro- When the official count
zen ground that in Janu- begins this week, the Cen-
ary makes it easier to get sus Bureau has hired four
around by March turns to people to go door-to-door.
marsh that's difficult to tra- At least two of them will be A family prepares to leave after services at the St. Peter Fisherman Church, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020,
verse. fluent in English and Yup'ik. in Toksook Bay, Alaska.
The mail service is spotty Places such as Toksook Bay Associated Press
and the internet connectiv- that run this risk of being
ity unreliable, which makes under-counted also des- you have 14 people living Mary Kailukiak, a town overnight and served with
door-to-door surveying im- perately need the federal in your rental. Violating that councilwoman, said she's seal oil.
portant. funds assigned based on privacy could land a Cen- one of the cooks. Then Dillingham will con-
For those reasons, they population for health care, sus worker behind bars with "I'm thinking of maybe duct the first official census
have to start early here. education and general in- a hefty fine. cooking up dried fish eggs, count, or enumeration as
The rest of the country, plus frastructure. When the count begins on herring fish eggs," she said, it known, with Chimiugak,
urban areas of Alaska such Yet mistrust of the fed- Tuesday, a Yup'ik elder who pausing to speak to a re- out of earshot of others to
as Anchorage, will begin eral government is high. is part of a well-known Es- porter while ice fishing satisfy federal privacy laws.
the census in mid-March. That's true in many parts of kimo dancing group will be for tomcod and smolt on Pitka is hoping for nice
Some of the biggest chal- the U.S., but especially in the first one counted. the Bering Sea, dressed in weather — it's been as
lenges to the count are es- Alaska, where many have Lizzie Chimiugak, whose a black parka and snow cold as -20 Fahrenheit (-29
pecially difficult in Toksook strong libertarian views, age isn't known because pants and sporting a hat Celsius) lately — as the na-
Bay, one of a handful of and even more in a rural records weren't kept but is made by her daughter tion's eyes turn west for the
villages on Nelson Island, community where every- anywhere from 89 to 93, is from sealskin and beaver. event: "It's going to be a
which is about 500 miles one knows everyone, and "the grandma for the whole The eggs will be soaked very special moment." q
(805 kilometers) west of An- someone asking for person- community," said Robert
chorage and only acces- al information is seen with Pitka, the tribal administra-
sible by boat or plane. suspicion. tor of the Nunakauyak Tra-
Some people speak only "The No. 1 barrier to get- ditional Council in Toksook
Alaska Native languages ting an accurate count Bay.
such as Yup'ik, or speak one throughout Alaska is con- Steven Dillingham, the di-
language but don't read it. cern about privacy and rector of the U.S. Census
The U.S. census provides confidentiality and an in- Bureau, will be on hand for
questionnaires in 13 lan- herent distrust of the fed- Tuesday's start.
guages, and other guides, eral government," said Ga- Village officials will greet
glossaries and materials briel Layman, chairman of him at the town's air-
in many more. But none the Alaska Census Working strip and bring him to the
is one of 20 official Alaska Group. "And that attitude is school, where community
Native languages. So lo- fairly pervasive in some of members will bring tradi-
cal groups are bringing to- our more rural and remote tional food, which could
gether translators and lan- communities." include seal, walrus, moose
guage experts to translate The census is entirely con- or musk ox. They'll have a
the census wording and fidential, Layman reassures ceremony with the dance
intent so local community people, and the Census Bu- group that includes Chimi-
leaders could trust, under- reau can't give information ugak, who will come to the
stand and relay the impor- to any law enforcement, school and dance in her
tance of the census. immigration official to even wheelchair if the weather
It wasn't an easy task. Lan- to a landlord if you report if allows.