Correction
This story incorrectly reported U.S. Census Bureau numbers. The bureau reports there were 132,320 American Indian females in Oklahoma in 2005.

Correction
This story misidentified the chairman of the Fort Still Apache Tribe, Jeff Houser.

A tribal-affiliation query proposed for the 2010 U.S. Census has supporters and critics.

CATOOSA -- A proposed question on tribal affiliation in the 2010 U.S. Census drew mixed reviews from Indian leaders at a United Indian Nations of Oklahoma meeting Thursday.

The census question, which drew heated debate during the group's quarterly meeting at Cherokee Casino and Resort, would ask self-identifying American Indians to indicate their tribal membership or their principal tribe if they are of more than one.

Cherokee Principal Chief Chad Smith backed the question being put on the census, saying that only three federally recognized Cherokee groups exist -- Eastern Band of Cherokee, Cherokee Nation and United Keetoowah Band -- but scores of other Cherokee groups claim authenticity. A question on specific tribal affiliation could limit that misperception, he said.

"There's a lot of people in this room that would like to claim to be Indian . . . how many have their favorite Cherokee grandma story?" he said. "Well, they ain't."

Meanwhile, some tribal leaders questioned the need for gathering specific affiliation because they feared fiscal consequences of inaccurate numbers.

Margaret Zientek of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation in Shawnee, said, "You will eventually deal with someone in the federal government that will look at these census numbers and say that's your enrollment (numbers)," she said. "These numbers are the responsibility of the tribes."

Other Indian leaders questioned why tribal-specific questions were needed on the census, when federal officials can glean enrollment numbers directly from them.

Census officials took suggestions to assign a code for individual tribes. There are more than 500 federally recognized tribes, including 37 in Oklahoma.

Allen Houser, chairman of the Fort Sill Apache, said assigning a specific tribal code in the census questionnaire might backfire on those it is meant to help.

"There are several that claim to be Apache . . . anything that legitimizes their designation detracts from our authenticity," he said.

Tim Olson, associate division chief of the U.S. Census' American Community Surveys, said questions can be reviewed prior to the actual gathering process.

"There is a need to have race addressed," Olson said. Race as a question is based on self-identification, he added.

Any change in questions would require approval by Congress, officials said.

Tribal officials also reviewed a series of billboard, magazine and newspaper ads that are Indian-specific to announce census participation.

A series of regional consultation meetings with tribal officials and census officials began in June and will run through September.

S.E. Ruckman 581-8462
se.ruckman@tulsaworld.com

American Indian populations, 2005

Oklahoma 253,783

Male 121,463

Female 131,320

Tulsa 14,956

Male 6,636

Female 8,320