NCAI Policy Research Center

The NCAI Policy Research Center is a Census Information Center.

For information on the 2020 Census and how you can help get out the count to ensure all of Indian Country is counted, go to: http://indiancountrycounts.org

What are Census Information Centers? 

The U.S. Census Bureau created the Census Information Centers as partnerships with up to 55 non-profit organizations that focus on working with underserved communities historically less likely to participate in the U.S. Census and associated surveys.

Census Information Centers include national and community-based organizations such as national non-governmental organizations, minority colleges and universities, minority chambers of commerce, civil rights and social justice organizations, organizations serving children, the aging and rural populations, and tribal governments.

The Census Information Centers work to promote and provide timely access to Census data and Census Bureau data products. They are recognized as official sources of demographic, economic, and social statistics produced by the U.S. Census Bureau and provide training and technical assistance to interested data users 

NCAI Policy Research Center as a Census Information Center

The NCAI Policy Research Center was first designated a Census Information Center (CIC) in 2006. As a Census Information Center, the NCAI Policy Research Center provides tribal leaders with easy to understand data analyses, technical assistance, information briefs, and access to Census information and data products that can be used for research, planning, and decision-making purposes. 

The vision of the Census Information Center program is to facilitate community empowerment through sustainable data access, analysis, and education. 

Current Work

The NCAI Policy Research Center Census Information Center works to further the policy research and data needs of Indian Country. The NCAI Policy Research Center collaborates with the NCAI civic engagement team as they work with tribal nations and communities to help get out the count for the Decennial Census and the American Community Survey. The NCAI Policy Research Center disseminates data products and updates from selected U.S. Census Bureau products.

The NCAI Policy Research Center worked with the U.S. Census Bureau, NCAI policy staff, and a team of demographers, statisticians, and census data users to address concerns over the U.S. Census Bureau's use of a new statistical method called Differential Privacy to protect confidentiality of individual data in the 2020 Decennial Census dataset. The impact on small, rural, and remote populations could be significant. For more information this work, visit our Research Recommendations webpage at: bit.ly/2QL2q7F. Tribal nations are encouraged to send their input on this issue to the U.S. Census Bureau, especially as they consider using Differential Privacy on other data products such as the American Community Survey.

For More Information

NCAI Policy Research Center Census Information Center products, presentations, resources, and reports are listed below. For more information, contact research@ncai.org. 

NCAI Policy Research Center Census Information Center Products

American Community Survey

Research Policy Update - The American Community Survey (2022). This update provides a broad overview of the American Community Survey (ACS) and its importance to Tribal Nations.

2020 Census Data Releases

NEW: A First Look at the 2020 Census American Indian/Alaska Native Redistricting Data. The purpose of this research brief is to provide Tribal Nations and partners with a first look at American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) population counts collected and released for the 2020 Census P.L. 94-171 Redistricting Data File.

NEW:  2020 Census Results: Regional Tribal Land Data Summary. The purpose of this research brief is to provide a first look at population data for U.S. Census Bureau tribal geographies (tribal lands) collected during the 2020 Census based on the P.L. 94-171 Redistricting Data File.

NEW: 2020 Census Results: NCAI Region Tribal Land Data. The purpose of this data update is to provide a first look at 2020 Census population data for individual tribal geographies (tribal lands( in each NCAI region as collected during the 2020 Census and based on the P.L. 94-171 Redistricting Data file. The reports for each NCAI are listed on the NCAI Policy Research Center Publications page.

2020 Census Self-Response Rates

The NCAI Policy Research Center will public weekly reports on 2020 Census self-response rates for tribal lands overall and in each NCAI region until the end of enumeration, which is now September 30, 2020. Data is downloaded from the 2020 Census Bureau daily.  View weekly reports on our Publications page.

Publications/Reports

• Decennial Census: Key Uses of the Data

• Differential Privacy and the 2020 U.S. Decennial Census: Impact on American Indian and Alaska Native Data

• Census 2020: Fact Sheet: Will You Count? American Indians and Alaska Natives in the 2020 Census

• Census 2020: Concerns about Tribal Enrollment Question

• NCAI Regional Data Profiles

• Demographic Profile of Indian Country

• The American Community Survey: Serious Implications for Indian Country

• Native Youth Count

• Supporting Economic Security and Prosperity [Introduction]. (2013). Washington, DC: National Congress of American Indians.

• Our Trust. Our People. Our America [Introduction]. (2012). Washington, DC: National Congress of American Indians.

• Honoring the Promises: the Federal Trust Responsibility in the 21st Century [Introduction]. (2011). Washington, DC: National Congress of American Indians.

• Investing in Indian Country: Building a Stronger America [Introduction]. (2010) Washington, DC: National Congress of American Indians.

• Timeless Promise of America: Renewed Hope for Indian Country [Introduction]. (2009). Washington, DC: National Congress of American Indians.

• NCAI Comments and Recommendations on the 2010 Census and American Community Survey

Census Resources & Reports on American Indians and Alaska Natives

• Census American Indian and Alaska Native Portal

• The American Indian and Alaska Native Population: 2010

• Census Data and Montana Indian Reservations (Montana CEIC)

Presentations

• Presentation at the South Dakota State Data Conference on AI/AN Data Quality Issues. (May 2013)

• Presentation of AI/AN Data Quality Issues at the Census Bureau’s Native American Heritage Month Event. (November 2012)

• Fiscal Cliff Impact on American Indian/Alaska Native People – the analysis drew on Census data for AI/AN nationally and in reservation areas. (October 2012)

• Overview of the CIC program and our data dissemination work for Indian Country to the representatives from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics and the Zambia Central Statistical Office on the. (August 2012)

• NCAI Policy Research Center presentation at an event with the Census Bureau and the National Museum of the American Indian as part of the release of The American Indian and Alaska Native Population: 2010 Census Brief. (January 2012)

• Improving Data, Empowering Decisions. Plenary Session Presentation, National Congress of American Indians, Tribal Leader/Scholar Forum at the Midyear Session, Milwaukee, WI. (June 2011)

• The American Community Survey: Serious Implications for Indian Country. Paper Presentation, Census Race and Ethnic Advisory Committee, Suitland, MD. (April 2011)

• Indian Country Counts. Presentation, Census Race and Ethnic Advisory Committee, Suitland, MD. (March 2011)