Edna Paisano facts for kids

Edna Lee Paisano (born January 1, 1948 – died September 3, 2014) was a very important person from the Nez Perce and Laguna Pueblo tribes. She was an expert in studying populations (a demographer) and statistics. She worked hard to make sure that Indigenous communities were counted correctly in the United States census.

She believed that if minority groups were not counted accurately, they wouldn't get the right amount of help and money from the government. Edna Paisano was the first Native American to work full-time at the United States Census Bureau. She is known for greatly improving how accurately American Indian and Alaska Native people were counted in the census between 1980 and 1990.

Life and Career

Edna Paisano was born on January 1, 1948, in Sweetwater, Idaho. This was on the Nez Perce Reservation. Her mother was very involved in education on the Reservation. She even won an award for her work.

Edna went to school in Lapwai, Idaho. Then she studied at Boise College for two years. After that, she moved to the University of Washington. She earned her first degree there in 1971. She then got a master's degree in social work. During her studies, she also learned about statistics.

While at the University of Washington, Edna helped create an American Indian cultural center. This center was in Fort Lawton. She was also an activist for land rights. She worked to help return land that had not been given to the United States government.

In 1980, Edna Paisano started working at the United States Census Bureau. She was the first Native American to be a full-time employee there. She focused on counting American Indian and Alaska Native people. She found that many Native American communities were not being counted properly. This meant they were not getting enough government help and services.

Edna realized how important it was for Native Americans to understand statistics and computer programming. She said this was because few Native Americans worked in these areas. Also, the government often uses these skills to understand different groups of people.

At the Census Bureau, Edna found that areas with many Native Americans were often undercounted. She used her skills in statistics and computer programming to fix this. She also started a big public campaign. This campaign encouraged more Native Americans to fill out the census forms.

She created a special questionnaire. This helped to estimate how many Native Americans might have been missed in the 1980 census. Her efforts led to much more accurate counts of Native Americans. The number of people counted in the American Indian and Alaska Native group went up by 38% from 1980 to 1990.

Besides her work with the Census Bureau, Edna also joined a special group. This group focused on issues for American Indian women. After 20 years at the Census Bureau, she took a job with the Environmental Protection Agency. Later, she became the chief statistician for the Indian Health Service. This service is part of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Edna Paisano retired from her government work in 2011. She passed away on September 3, 2014, in Lewiston, Idaho.

Awards and Recognition

Edna Paisano received several important awards for her work:

• Bronze Medal Award for Superior Federal Service, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1987
• Department of Commerce Silver Medal, 1994
• Distinguished Alumnus Award, University of Washington, 2003

Selected Reports

Edna Paisano helped write several important reports for the U.S. Census Bureau:

• We the First Americans, US Census Bureau report, 1987
• We the American-Pacific Islanders, US Census Bureau report, 1993
• We the American-Asians, US Census Bureau report, 1993

See also

In Spanish: Edna Paisano para niños