NEW TOWN The U.S. Census Bureau is eager to recruit census workers and get the word out on the Fort Berthold Reservation about the importance of taking part in next year's census, said Jodi Leidholm, local census office manager.

Tribal Chairman Marcus Leavings and Ten-state Census Regional Director Cathy Illian will sign a proclamation declaring an official partnership between the Three Affiliated Tribes and the Census Office during today's pow wow at the convention center at the Four Bears Casino and Lodge. Leavings is expected to sign the proclamation at about 1:45 or 2 p.m., following the grand entry at the pow wow, which is the first major event of the summer.

Thousands are expected to attend the pow wow, said Jared Ewy, media specialist for the Denver Regional Census Center. The event will also be attended by 4 Bears General Manager Spencer Wilkinson, Leidholm and Tribal Partnership Specialist Jeff Baker will speak as well.

Leidholm said the census office has had problems recruiting census workers in that area and it's great the tribe is taking the initiative and launching an awareness campaign on the reservation. There was an undercount on the reservation during the 2000 census. Census numbers are used in determining how much federal funding goes to the reservation. The proclamation states that the census is important to the tribe in a number of ways, including rural development; planning for public transportation services, health and education services for people with disabilities and land use, families and adult education programs and the tribe has an interest in insuring an accurate Census count in a group which has traditionally been undercounted.

Ewy said the Census Bureau wants to recruit "friends and neighbors" as census workers in their home communities to increase the likelihood of an accurate count and ensure that the people who are being counted are less suspicious of the census workers at their door.

Ewy also said the Census Bureau is recognizing the importance of tribal sovereignty in entering into a partnership agreement with the tribe and similar actions might be taken with other tribes throughout North Dakota.

The Constitution requires that a census be conducted every 10 years.