Last updated: April 17, 2020
Article
Counting Alaska's Residents: Good Luck!
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Drane Family Collection, University of Alaska Fairbanks, UAF-1991-46-685
Census History and Alaska
Imagine it’s 1869. The United States recently acquired a vast territory in the far northwest part of the continent, and—as is required by law—must count all the residents for the 1870 census. You are in charge. How will you coordinate this effort and access remote communities scattered around 663,000 square miles using limited technology and infrastructure? Most people you encounter will not speak English. Don't forget, there is very limited time to make the count![1]
The challenge of counting residents has been on-going since Alaska joined the United States, but was initially tackled by legends like Ivan Petrof and his agents, who sailed, paddled, mushed, hiked, etc. until they reached every community for both the 1880 and the 1890 census reports. Petrof's exhaustive efforts resulted in valuable reports detailing not just census data, but also information about Alaska's natural resources (check out the beautiful illustrations and maps!). Counting Alaska's residents is complex and requires strategies different than those in the Lower 48.
Move forward nearly 150 years. Is counting Alaska’s residents easier? The state is still a massive, infrastructure-challenged landscape containing remote villages off the road system. Language barriers remain. Internet is not universal. The geographic and climate obstacles still complicate things.
Alaska has many residents who move around seasonally based on subsistence activities and certain types of work. Most of America gets counted in spring, but by that time residents who live in villages have potentially left for the season. Counting people is never perfect but lots of Alaska's residents have been under-counted and thus underrepresented, which has required the census to adjust its Alaska enumeration strategy.
Because of the time it takes, and the seasonal nature of many villages, it has become a tradition to kick off the national decennial census in a remote Alaska village. Census takers arrive in the heart of winter, when most people are in their home communities.
Because of the time it takes, and the seasonal nature of many villages, it has become a tradition to kick off the national decennial census in a remote Alaska village. Census takers arrive in the heart of winter, when most people are in their home communities.
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1920 census record for the Kantishna district within the Fourth Judicial District in the Territory of Alaska
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1920 census record for the Kantishna district within the Fourth Judicial District in the Territory of Alaska
Why Does the Census Matter?
Census data helps the government make decisions regarding funding allocation (things like education, healthcare, roads, fire protection, etc.) but also helps to determine federal and state political representation. Every ten years, state governments define political districts based on census data.
For a historian or genealogist, census records are extremely valuable sources of information. Depending on data collected, the census provides insight about where people lived, where they came from, the type of work they did, and other past trends. A historian at Denali National Park can understand who was living in Kantishna (see figures 2 and 3) or other communities surrounding the park.[3]
Do future historians a favor and please complete your census.
Citations
[1] The census was established by Article 1, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution. The first U.S. census took place in 1790 and has occurred every ten years since. The first census of Alaska’s population was taken in 1870 under the direction of Major General Henry Halleck. The 82,400 number is now dismissed as unreliable due to duplication and counting subjects who were not a part of Alaska.[2] The census moves its ceremonial start to different Alaska villages. In 2010 the census began in Noorvik; in 2000 it started in Unalakleet.
[3] Not all census records are immediately available. By law, the federal government must wait 72 years to release census records. Census data from 1940 and prior is available to researchers. It’s worth noting that from 1790 to 1840, Native Americans were not counted in the census; most Native Americans are poorly represented in records prior to 1900. From the first census in 1790 through the Civil War, enslaved people were counted as three-fifths a person.