Indigenous collaboration corrects homelessness data in King County

A new collaborative report has corrected data regarding unsheltered American Indians and Alaska Natives in King County, Washington, revealing the population is three times larger than previously reported by government agencies. The University of Washington, the Urban Indian Health Institute, and the Chief Seattle Club partnered to conduct their own research to address inaccuracies in a June report from the King County Homeless Authority. The corrected findings show that American Indians and Alaska Natives represent 15 percent of the county's unsheltered population, despite making up only 1 to 2 percent of the total population. This is a significant increase from the 4.2 percent figure initially reported. The discrepancy was attributed to a "multi-racial" category flaw, where individuals identifying as Native alongside another race were excluded from Indigenous-specific data. Abigail Echo-Hawk, a citizen of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma and director of the Urban Indian Health Institute, stated in a press release that the misidentification was a form of "data genocide." She noted that erasing multi-racial Indigenous people from data often informs policy and funding in ways that disadvantage the community. Derrick Belgarde, the Chief Executive Officer of Chief Seattle Club and a member of the Siletz and Chippewa Cree tribes, emphasised that accurate data is essential for solving homelessness. The report recommends that future counts use methods developed in collaboration with Native organisations to ensure data collection occurs in safe, culturally specific environments. Moving forward, researchers suggest fixing racial reporting categories to prevent the erasure of multi-racial Indigenous individuals and increasing funding for culturally specific housing solutions to address the identified gaps.