Osage Nation Signs Agreement To Share Data With US Census Bureau

The director of the U.S. Census Bureau visited Green Country Tuesday from the nation’s capital, to sign an agreement with the Osage Nation.

The agreement is the first of its kind, as part of an effort to better represent how many Native Americans live in the U.S.

Related: U.S. Census Plays Key Role In Oklahoma Congressional Seats, Federal Funding

When the Osage Nation did its own census for the first time last year, it said the goal was to learn more about the needs of its people. Now, that data will help better inform the U.S. government.

With a signature and a handshake, the Osage Nation agreed to share its 2023 Census data with the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Osage Nation collected data about where Osage people live, their education and income levels, health, language, and more.

“You put those together and they become very powerful tools, even at an aggregate level, that we’re receiving that we can gain insight from that into how well our surveys are performing and how well our censuses are performing,” U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Santos said.

Santos said while this collaboration is just getting started, better data leads to better federal funding.

“This is just one more step in what we consider our sovereign right to know our people, to consider them our people, even though they have dual citizenship in the United States,” Osage Nation Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear said.

He said the results of the Osage Nation’s census also help inform their policy.

“So that tells me when I got to my legislature I can push these programs and say these are working we need more money there,” he said. “We need money over here as well, social services. But we have to choose which ones which we do, we have to make tough decisions.”

More information, leading to better representation.

“This is historic,” Santos said. “We have not done this before. And we’re looking for this to be the start of greater cooperation not just with the Osage Nation but with all tribes.”

The Osage Nation is leading the way for other tribal nations to start their own census, but providing a packet to help them get started. So far at least seven tribal nations have reached out for help.

The Osage Nation’s 2023 Census is below.