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 Each regional meeting included a geographic presentation tailored to the unique needs and geographic situation of the AIANA populations in that part of the United States. As a result of holding these regional meetings, Census Bureau staff became more aware of the importance of geographic issues affecting American Indian and Alaska Natives. In addition, these meetings led tribal and village officials to recognize their critical role in helping the Census Bureau to identify and delineate geographic entities for the 1990 census.

The delineation of boundaries for American Indian and Alaska Native areas poses unique challenges for the Census Bureau. This is particularly true of legally or governmentally defined entities such as reservations and trust lands, the most important geographic units for the tabulation and presentation of decennial census data for the American Indian populations. The Census Bureau obtains boundaries for Federally recognized reservations and trust lands from the BIA, which certifies the accuracy of the boundaries depicted for these entities. One recommendation for the 1990 census was to have the tribes review the reservation/trust land boundaries. To implement this suggestion, the Census Bureau and the BIA signed a memorandum of understanding for the purpose of achieving a more inclusive exchange of boundary information between the two agencies and the tribal authorities. This agreement provided the framework for the Tribal Review Program.

The Census Bureau inserted the 1980 census geographic information for American Indian reservations and trust lands (geographic codes and boundaries) into the TIGER data base, and then made corrections, changes, and additions using information provided by the Tribal Review Program. Under the Tribal Review Program, the BIA delivered boundary information for Federally recognized reservations and off-reservation trust lands (both individual and tribal). The Census Bureau supplied copies of computer-plotted maps to the BIA for each reservation and trust land area. These maps were Notes and References 5-10American Indian and Alaska Native Areas