As the 2020 Census begins, questions remain about the accuracy of hard-to-count populations.

Above: Census workers traveling by snowmobile. Credit: Joshua Corbett for The New York Times

New York Times article lays out the challenges of counting Indigenous communities and other historically undercounted populations.

This year, there are renewed calls for special attention to minority neighborhoods and Indigenous communities like Toksook Bay.

In many such places, traditional methods have historically failed to count some people who may be invisible as a result of the federal government’s inability to overcome geography, language barriers or the reluctance of some residents to interact with government representatives.

It’s the same here in North Dakota.

Read more about counting hard-to-count populations here.