In 1992, a resolution
was passed by the Navajo Nation Council to create
a more open environment for information sharing
among the 13 divisions of the Navajo Nation government.
Up until that point there was a lack of cohesion
among sources of information on the Navajo Nation.
It was difficult for the public to access the
information, and often it was difficult to locate
the data in the first place. The idea of founding
a data resource center had been discussed by various
groups for almost 15 years because of this lack
of cohesion. The problems that inhibited such
a move included lack of funding, lack of technology,
and a lack of technology-trained resources.
The idea for a resource center gained new life
in the year 2000 when a Census Information Center
Program was created by the Census Bureau to recruit
organizations to reach “underserved”
populations in rural areas. When the Navajo Nation
submitted a proposal that was accepted, the Census
Bureau gave them the authority to do their own
count, and thus the Navajo Nation Data Resource
Center (NNDRC) was started. One of the first issues
the Center tackled was a 13.6% undercount in the
1990 census among this population. With 7 million
dollars in funding, they hired 2,500 enumerators
and sent them off to collect information in a
variety of transports, from horseback to all-terrain
vehicles to helicopters. The NNDRC has since received
$93,000 in funding from the Navajo Nation to continue
to expand its scope and functionality.
Ernie Yazzie, the Statistician for the NNDRC
began the development of the Resource Center project,
and now coordinates all aspects of its operation.
The Center began working with health data first,
in cooperation with the Indian Health Service.
A data sharing agreement was then created with
New Mexico, and similar agreements are in negotiation
with Arizona and Utah. The information that the
Center deals with now includes data on Health,
Education, Law Enforcement, Natural Resources,
Infrastructure, and Transportation.
Currently, the priority of the NNDRC is to collect
data, organize it, and make it available for use.
The NNDRC has been recognized by the U.S. Census
Bureau as a Census Information Center. They seek
to mediate between those that have the data and
those who need the data, for a variety of purposes.
They try to facilitate information gathering and
sharing for all non-confidential Navajo Nation-related
data. Their challenge is bringing together the
data from many different sources that use a variety
of collection techniques and software.
Currently, Mr. Yazzie is the only permanent staff
member. He does occasionally seek help from external
consultants for specific tasks. He has recently
submitted a Plan of Operation that would designate
the Center as its own department within the Navajo
Nation. Mr. Yazzie believes that this step would
give the NNDRC the independence it needs to go
out and initiate data sharing agreements on behalf
of the Navajo Nation, which will help to further
the goals of the Center.
Mr. Yazzie believes in the importance of tribes
facilitating their own data collection and dissemination
efforts. In the case of the Navajo Nation, he
states plainly, “We want ownership over
our own data.” He thinks that there should
be someone checking the quality of the data, and
that this task should reside within the community.
He would like to emphasize the value of tribes
having their own data manager, even if they cannot
have a standing resource center. He hopes that
one day, with additional funding, the Navajo Nation
Data Resource Center will grow to serve as a role
model, to help other tribes with similar efforts
in their own populations.
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