Native activists working to get Montana reservations fully counted in census

At stake for Sooktis’ community — and every community — is funding. During the past decade, Montana received roughly $2,000 a year in federal dollars for every resident in the state who was counted in the 2010 Census. That’s according to the Montana Complete Count Committee. A portion of the more than $2 billion a year the state receives from the federal government goes to support programs in tribal communities, things like Head Start, school lunches and public housing.

If fully counted, Montana residents could gain a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, census projections show.

The 2020 census data will also be used to redraw Montana districts for the state Legislature. That process will begin once the results of the census are available in 2021.