1. Comments Remain Open Through November 2

The Census Bureau held a virtual Tribal consultation on October 2, 2026. Written comments remain open through November 2, 2026. Village corporations, regional corporations, Tribes, organizations, and individuals can submit comments. Participation in the consultation is not required to submit written comments.

The proposals address where people are counted and whether census questionnaires collect race and ethnicity information. Neither is final. The current comment period covers both proposals.

2. What the Proposed Rules Say

Native identification. Proposed § 70.2(a) states, “No question about race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation shall appear on the short form decennial census questionnaire or any questionnaire used for the enumeration of the population.” The 2020 Census included an American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN) checkbox and a Tribal write-in field. Proposed § 70.4 would preserve demographic questions on the American Community Survey (ACS) and other non-enumeration surveys, but the decennial census would no longer collect Tribal-affiliation data if the AI/AN checkbox is removed. The proposed rule does not adopt a replacement Tribal-identification question.

Residence and the population count. Proposed 15 CFR § 60.2 defines usual residence as the residence where a person has “lawfully spent the greatest number of days during the census enumeration period.” That period would run a mere 90 days, January 3 through April 1. A day would require “at least one hour physically and lawfully present” at the residence. The proposal states that usual residence “should be consistent with, and evidenced by,” tax records.

3. What the Changes Mean for ANCs and Native Communities

Together, the proposed changes would decrease the overall number of self-identified AI/AN people in the United States because that data is not being collected and affect the overall population count of tribal communities.

Community planning and sovereignty. Census information is a basis for locating housing, health care, schools, transportation, language services, and emergency resources. The Native American Rights Fund argues that removing Native identification would weaken Tribes’ ability to document disparities and explain community needs. similarly links self-identification to Tribal sovereignty. These concerns address how Native populations are represented in federal information. They are distinct from the corporate ownership rules applicable to ANCs.

Funding and Alaska’s different entities. AFN/GOTNV and NCAI identify housing and other service funding as concerns. HUD’s Indian Housing Block Grant rule uses decennial AI/AN population data. Alaska’s attribution rules generally credit population and housing data within a Native village to the village, not its village corporation. Data outside villages go to the regional Indian Tribe or, absent one, the regional corporation. This is a funding-data rule, not an 8(a) eligibility rule. The Census proposals do not establish a particular corporation’s funding loss.

Small communities and replacement data. AFN/GOTNV questions whether sample surveys can replace Native identification in a population-wide count. Its talking points emphasize small Alaska Native villages. They cite the Census Bureau’s explanation that ACS samples are too small to produce reliable single-year estimates for areas below 65,000 people. The concern is whether replacement information would provide sufficiently detailed community-level data, rather than only broader regional estimates.

AFN/GOTNV also challenges reliance on administrative records, including Tribal enrollment information. Its concern is that enrollment records do not capture everyone who self-identifies as American Indian or Alaska Native. Census self-identification and Tribal citizenship describe different populations, and it is unclear whether replacing individual responses would preserve the same coverage.

Representation and the Census Bureau’s response. NARF identifies race data as evidence used in redistricting and voting-rights enforcement, and questions how Native voting communities would be identified without those responses. The Census Bureau’s stated rationale says fewer questions would reduce response burden and disclosure concerns. The Census Bureau expects administrative records to fill information gaps and characterizes funding effects as indirect. It is unclear whether these alternatives adequately replace decennial Native data. These competing positions leave data availability and comparability unresolved.

8(a) eligibility is a separate issue. The Census Bureau’s proposals are not directed to SBA statutes or rules governing ANC-owned 8(a) businesses. For special ANC treatment, Alaska Natives and their descendants must hold a majority of both equity and director-election voting power through settlement common stock. A qualifying ANC is deemed economically disadvantaged. Participating businesses remain subject to business-size and other program requirements. A shareholder’s census race response is not the test for ANC ownership. The proposal therefore is not itself a change to ANC-owned 8(a) eligibility.

4. Submitting Comments and Finding Resources

Comments can be submitted through the federal Regulations.gov portal under docket USBC-2026-0628. The “Comment” option accepts typed text or an attached document. Village and regional corporations can submit independently. Written comments become part of the public record. Voluntarily supplied personal, confidential, or other sensitive information generally will be publicly accessible.

The Census Bureau’s October 2 consultation materials explain the consultation process. NARF’s Census overview describes Native-community concerns. The October 5 Federal Register extension notice confirms the current deadline. Some earlier materials distinguish an October 13 public deadline from a November 2 Tribal deadline. The official extension establishes November 2 for the public comment period.

The written-comment period remains open through November 2, 2026.

This article does not constitute legal advice. For legal advice that applies to your situation, you should contact an attorney.