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The U.S. Census Bureau announced today the establishment of the National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic and Other Populations and has named Don Loudner as a member of the committee.

The National Advisory Committee will advise the Census Bureau on a wide range of variables that affect the cost, accuracy and implementation of the Census Bureau's programs and surveys, including the once-a-decade census. The committee, which is comprised of 32 members from multiple disciplines, will advise the Census Bureau on topics such as housing, children, youth, poverty, privacy, race and ethnicity, as well as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and other populations.

“We expect that the expertise of this committee will help us meet emerging challenges the Census Bureau faces in producing statistics about our diverse nation,” said Thomas Mesenbourg, the Census Bureau's acting director. “By helping us better understand a variety of issues that affect statistical measurement, this committee will help ensure that the Census Bureau continues to provide relevant and timely statistics used by federal, state and local governments as well as business and industry in an increasingly technologically oriented society.”

The National Advisory Committee members, who serve at the discretion of the Census Bureau director, are chosen to serve based on expertise and knowledge of the cultural patterns, issues and/or statistical needs of hard-to-count populations.

Don Loudner is one of the best-known American Indian veterans advocates in the United States. He was born and raised on the Crow Creek Sioux Reservation at Fort Thompson, S.D., and is a federally recognized member of the Hunkpati Dakota Sioux Nation. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War from 1950 to 1983, retiring as a chief warrant officer, CW4. He then went to work for the Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs as an agency superintendent. He is the first commander of National American Indian Veterans Inc. In 1984, he was appointed to the South Dakota State Veterans Affairs Commission, where he continues to serve and advocate for South Dakota Veterans. He has served for 50 years with the American Legion and is a lifetime member of the Disabled American Veterans. He recently served as vice-chairman of the Census Advisory Committee on the American Indian and Alaska Native populations.