WEBSITE ADMIN. : Todd Mitchell

NEWSLETTER EDITORS : Heid Erdrich and Nehomah Thundercloud

From: Ray Burns
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 17:32:04 EDT

I have attached the NAAAD Constitution for your reading enjoyment. Any questions/additions/subtractions, please let me know.

btw, this draft has been approved by Alumni Office so we need to keep the format relatively the same.

-ray-

NATIVE AMERICAN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION OF DARTMOUTH COLLEGE

CONSTITUTION

ARTICLE I. NAME

The name of the organization shall be the Native American Alumni Association of Dartmouth College (NAAAD).

ARTICLE II. PURPOSE

The purpose of the organization shall be to provide a forum for Native American Alumni to meet and discuss issues of importance to Native American People and to further the interests, welfare and educational purposes of Dartmouth College for so long as the Association is in existence and the College remains organized exclusively for charitable, educational or scientific purposes within the meaning of Sections 501(c)(3) and 170 (b)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 as amended.

ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP

Membership of NAAAD shall be comprised of any Native American student who successfully matriculated into Dartmouth College and whose class has passed its date of graduation. Additionally, others may be elected to become part of NAAAD as honorary members for exemplary work with Native American students at Dartmouth and beyond.

ARTICLE IV. OFFICERS

1. The Executive Officers of this Association shall be as follows: President, Ruling Council Members, Treasurer. Each Officer shall be elected for two-year terms. Terms shall be staggered so that at least two positions are not up for election at any given election.
2. The President (or his/her designate) shall preside at all formal meetings of NAAAD and shall be responsible for ongoing relations with other Alumni and Native organizations as well as with Dartmouth College's Office of Alumni Relations. The President will serve an elected term of two (2) years and may serve two terms concurrently. The President may not serve for longer then two elected terms in succession.
3. The Ruling Council or designated representative(s) shall be expected to be present at all formal meetings of NAAAD. The Ruling Council's primarily responsibilities shall be to oversee all Committees and report directly to the President. Further, the Ruling Council shall be the legislative body for NAAAD in all matters not brought before the NAAAD body as a whole.
   1. The Ruling Council shall consist of: NAAAD President, three (3) elected at-large members, and the Alumni Liaison with Native Americans at Dartmouth. Ruling Council Members shall be elected to two-year terms and may not serve three elected terms in succession. The Alumni Liaison is exempt from this provision and shall serve at sole behest of Native Americans at Dartmouth.
   2. The Ruling Council shall reflect the diversity of Native American Alumni and all due effort will be put forth to ensure representation >from all class years and all locales contained within NAAAD.
   3. At times, the Ruling Council may elect to create Ad Hoc Ruling Council Positions as needed
4. The Treasurer shall be responsible for collecting dues and revenues for the Association. He/she will also be responsible for keeping the accounts of NAAAD up-to-date and shall report to the Ruling Council the status of NAAAD Financial Affairs at formal meeting held in conjunction with Annual Dartmouth Pow Wow.

ARTICLE V. ELIGIBILITY TO VOTE All members defined by Article III are eligible to vote.

ARTICLE VI. ELIGIBILITY TO HOLD OFFICE All members defined under Article V shall be eligible to hold office save for under specific prevision contained within Article IV.

ARTICLE VII. COMMUNICATIONS

1. A designated member of NAAAD shall be responsible for the creation and mailing of a NAAAD Newsletter. This Newsletter shall consist of current information on alumni as well as ongoing plans, discussions and meetings of import to NAAAD.
2. At times, the President and/or Ruling Council shall deem information vital to NAAAD interests must be mailed immediately. This shall not be considered a Newsletter.

ARTICLE VIII. CANDIDACY FOR OFFICE

Candidates shall make their intent to run for office known by January 1 of election year to Ruling Council.

ARTICLE IX. ELECTIONS

1. By February 1, list of candidates and any submitted information will be sent to NAAAD by Alumni Relations along with official ballots.
2. Voting shall close on April 1. Ruling Council shall be responsible for tabulating votes and will announce election results by May 1.

ARTICLE X. MEETINGS

Formal Meetings shall be confined to those events where a large number of Native American Alumni can reasonably be assumed to be present. Examples would include (but are not confined to): the National Indian Education Association Annual Conference, the American Indian Science and Engineering Society Annual Conference, Dartmouth Reunion Weekend, Etc.

1. A Formal Meeting of NAAAD shall be held in conjunction with the Annual Dartmouth Pow Wow. At this Formal meeting, election results shall be announced and all terms of office shall begin.
2. The President of NAAAD may call a meeting when he/she deems necessary utilizing whatever communications method he/she deems appropriate to reach the greatest number of NAAAD members in the shortest period of time.

ARTICLE XI. COMMITTEES

1. The following Committees shall be Standing Committees for NAAAD. This list is not meant to be final and may be adjusted without constitutional revision.
   • Constitution & By-Laws Committee
   • Funding and Finance Committee
   • Mentor Program Committee
   • Career Development Program Committee
   • Dartmouth Campus Affairs Committee
   • Vision Committee
   • Membership Committee
   • Dartmouth Admissions Committee
   • Reunion Committee
2. Membership of each Committee shall be voluntary and shall have no fixed term.
3. Leadership of each Committee shall be designated by NAAAD President and/or Ruling Council.

ARTICLE XII. RESIGNATION/REMOVAL FROM ELECTED OFFICE

1. NAAAD President or Ruling Council Member may resign at any time upon written submission of resignation to Executive Officers. Resignation shall not become effective until replacement has been seated or three months have passed.
2. NAAAD President or Ruling Council Member may be impeached upon three-fourths majority vote of all members casting votes in specially called election.
3. NAAAD President or Ruling Council Member may be impeached upon simple majority vote of membership of NAAAD.

ARTICLE XIII SPECIAL APPOINTMENTS

1. In event of circumstances as described in ARTICLE XII, NAAAD President and Ruling Council may appoint replacement to fill remainder of term.

ARTICLE XIV. ASSOCIATION YEAR

The year of the Association shall be from Annual Dartmouth Pow Wow of one year to Annual Dartmouth Pow Wow of the next.

ARTICLE XV. DUES

Dues shall be levied upon membership each year. Amount of dues shall be determined by NAAAD President and Ruling Council at Formal Meeting.

ARTICLE XVI. SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS

NAAAD reserves the right to impose special fees upon its membership upon unanimous vote of Ruling Council and support of NAAAD President.

ARTICLE XVII. PRIVATE INUREMENT

No part of the net earnings of the Association shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributable to, and Association member, officer, or any other private person or individual. All of the assets and net earnings shall be used to further its educational and charitable purposes.

ARTICLE XVIII POLITICAL ACTIVITY

No substantial part of the activities of the Association shall be the carrying on of propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation. The Association shall not participate or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office. NAAAD reserves the right to exercise rights of sovereignty where issues of significant import arise.

ARTICLE XIX ADOPTION This constitution shall become effective upon approval of two-thirds of membership voting in special election.

ARTICLE XX. AMENDMENTS Amendments to this constitution can be introduced at all formal meetings. Ratification requires two-thirds vote of NAAAD members present at formal meeting.

ARTICLE XXI. DISSOLUTION

This Association shall be deemed to be dissolved at such time when Dartmouth College no longer chooses to honor its commitment to the education of Indian Youth as it has designated in its Charter. This event shall be recognized by unanimous vote of all eligible NAAAD members in special election called by NAAAD President and Ruling Council. Upon dissolution, all of the property and assets of the Association shall, after the payment of any lawful debts, be distributed to Native Americans at Dartmouth or for one of more exempt purposes within the meaning of section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.