While Indians were expected to go to the polls in record numbers on Election Day 2008, a national organization representing more than 250 tribes is still compiling numbers showing the Indian turnout.

The National Congress of American Indians targeted 18 states with significant Native populations as part of its Native Vote campaign. As of Monday, the NCAI was prepared to release voting results for only two states, Montana and New Mexico.

"Unfortunately, NCAI as well as all of Indian Country has never had the resources or the investment from anybody to help us develop a good database or good baseline of data around elections and election turnout," said Jacqueline Johnson-Pata, NCAI executive director. "It's always been a challenge for us. This year we attempted to do the best we could using volunteers to gather the information."

Data crunchers at NCAI's policy research center are still validating information collected from volunteers. And some states still don't have official election results, said Johnson-Pata. It remains to be seen if American Indian voter registration numbers rose or fell this year compared to the 2004 general election.

Although states do not gather statistics on Indian voters, it is possible to estimate Indian turnout by gathering data from precincts within reservation boundaries. But that methodology excludes urban areas, where more than 60 percent of Indian people live.

Meanwhile, NCAI statistics show several Montana and New Mexico precincts with significant increases in voter turnout.

All nine precincts on Montana's Crow Reservation saw increases. Five precincts showed 28 percent to 47 percent increases compared to the 2004 election. Half of the precincts on the Fort Peck Reservation had an increase in voters.

Every reservation in Montana had at least one precinct increase voter turnout by at least 25 percent. The only exceptions were the Northern Cheyenne and Rocky Boy reservations, where in some cases voter turnout fell.

In New Mexico, 11 pueblos and tribes experienced voter turnout 25 percent and higher, with five pueblos recording notable increases ranging from 57 percent to 119 percent. Ten Navajo precincts had turnouts of 25 percent and higher. At the same time, voter turnout in seven other Navajo precincts dropped as much as 90 percent.

Sarah Hicks, director of NCAI's Policy Research Center, said staff members would continue to compile data on voting results.

Some volunteers not associated with a national organization, a tribe or a specific campaign gathered and sorted through reservation precinct numbers after the election. They also planned their own grassroots get-out-the-vote drives.

"We need to organize ourselves in order to advocate for our interests," said Jodi Archambault Gillette, an election volunteer in North Dakota. "If we do it ourselves, then we have more power to negotiate. We need to do this for our own good."

Gillette worked with a core group of volunteers during the final six weeks leading up to the Nov. 4 election. The group knocked on doors and urged voters on the Standing Rock Reservation to go to the polls. She called each county office for election results. The reservation ended up with the highest voter turnout in North Dakota.

Preliminary numbers show a 22.4 percent increase in Indian precincts on the northern half of the Standing Rock Reservation, which straddles North Dakota and South Dakota.

"We're community people," Gillette said. "It's about finding people who will get things done. I was working for my people. It was beautiful, too."

(Reach reporter Jodi Rave at 800-366-7186 or jodi.rave@lee.net.)