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On the Edge of America, Census Begins in a Tiny Alaska Town

Associated Press

   TOKSOOK BAY, ALASKA -- There are no restaurants in Toksook Bay, Alaska.
   No motels or movie theater, either. There also aren't any factories. Or
   roads.

   But the first Americans to be counted in the 2020 census live in this
   tiny community of 661 on the edge of the American expanse. Their homes
   are huddled together in a windswept Bering Sea village, painted vivid
   lime green, purple or neon blue to help distinguish the signs of life
   from a frigid white winterscape that makes it hard to tell where the
   frozen sea ends and the village begins.

   Fish drying racks hang outside some front doors, and you're more likely
   to find a snowmobile or four-wheeler in the driveway than a truck or
   SUV.

   In this isolated outpost that looks little like other towns in the rest
   of the United States, the official attempt to count everyone living in
   the country will begin Tuesday.

   The decennial U.S. census has started in rural Alaska, out of tradition
   and necessity, ever since the U.S. purchased the territory from Russia
   in 1867.

   Once the spring thaw hits, the town empties as many residents scatter
   for traditional hunting and fishing grounds, and the frozen ground that
   in January makes it easier to get around by March turns to marsh that's
   difficult to traverse. The mail service is spotty and the internet
   connectivity unreliable, which makes door-to-door surveying important.

   For those reasons, they have to start early here.

   The rest of the country, plus urban areas of Alaska such as Anchorage,
   will begin the census in mid-March.

   Some of the biggest challenges to the count are especially difficult in
   Toksook Bay, one of a handful of villages on Nelson Island, which is
   about 500 miles (805 kilometers) west of Anchorage and only accessible
   by boat or plane.

   Some people speak only Alaska Native languages such as Yup'ik, or speak
   one language but don't read it.