"NOORVIK, Alaska (AP) - One down, more than 309 million to go.

U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Groves on Monday began the 2010
count of the nation's residents in a village in Alaska's arctic
hinterlands.

The first person tallied in Noorvik, an Inupiat Eskimo community of
650, was Clifton Jackson, a World War II veteran and the town's oldest
resident.

"It's all downhill from now," Groves said after exiting Jackson's
house.""


...."Groves and other officials were taken from the airport to the
village school by sled, with dog teams driven by schoolchildren. He
even took a turn on the reins.

After eating whale meat and gathering with village officials and
elders, Groves was driven to Jackson's house in a 4-wheeler. Dressed
in heavy Arctic gear, he walked to the door with a briefcase in hand."

...."Residents prepared a day of festivities with traditional dances,
an Inupiat fashion show and a feast of subsistence foods including
moose and caribou."

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