The top official in the U.S. Census Bureau, Robert Santos, was in Sitka last month to talk with city and Sitka Tribe of Alaska officials about ways to improve the accuracy of Alaska’s population numbers in the national census held every 10 years.

The official figures are used to determine congressional districts and some forms of federal funding, and there was a significant undercount of Alaska Natives in the 2020 census, Santos said.

Ever since the census count was released, Wrangell borough officials have complained that the tally undercounted the community. The Census Bureau said the c...