Saturday, January 30, 2010
Clifton Jackson, first person to be counted in the 2010 Census, January 24, 2010 (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
The great count of 2010 began this week in the remote Alaskan village of Noorvik, with 89-year-old World War II veteran Clifton Jackson serving as the first officially recorded person of the census.
U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Groves flew to northwest Alaska along with an entourage of about 50 employees to launch the 2010 census, maintaining a tradition that’s been in effect since 1990 of starting the headcount in Alaska. Because the Inupiat Eskimo community of 650 lacks roads, federal officials traveled by dog sled to interview each local resident of Noorvik.
Groves and his staff enjoyed a day of festivities at a local school, where villagers treated the visitors to traditional dances, an Inupiat fashion show and a meal featuring moose and caribou. The school also served as lodging for the Census Bureau group, who slept in empty classrooms.
Once they’ve completed their work in Noorvik, the census workers will move on to more than 200 other rural Alaska communities in the coming weeks.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
You're Number 1: Alaska Village Up First in Census (by Rachel D'oro, Associated Press)
Census Count Starts with No. 1 in Alaska (by Haya El Nasser, USA Today)
2010 Census begins in Noorvik (AP Photos)
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