Articles of the Indigenous Law Students Association at the University of Wisconsin
Article I
Section 1: Name
The name of the Association is the Indigenous Law Students Association. Indigenous for the
purposes of this Association will mean American Indian, Alaskan Native and Native Hawaiian
peoples.
Section 2: Purpose
This Association is organized for nonprofit and educational purposes as regulated by the University
of Wisconsin and identified by the University of Wisconsin Law School:
(a) Providing an organization for Indigenous law students and law students with an interest
in Federal Indian and Tribal law that will work for the advancement of Indigenous peoples.
(b) Providing communication among Indigenous law students, law students with an interest
in Federal Indian and Tribal law, faculty, administration, Indigenous peoples and the public.
(c) Providing a forum for the discussion of legal problems relating to law affecting
Indigenous peoples, Indigenous communities and Tribal governments.
(d) Providing assistance to Indigenous law students and law students with an interest in
Federal Indian and Tribal law, including but not limited to:
1) Educational opportunities such as curriculum development, tutorial programs and
research projects.
2) Social support.
(e) No pecuniary gain, incidental or otherwise, shall be afforded to any member of the
Association and no part of the net earnings of the Association shall inure to the benefit of or
be distributed to its members or officers, except that the Association shall be authorized to pay
reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in
furtherance of the purposes set forth in Article I hereof.
Article II
Section 1: Membership
There shall be two categories of membership:
(a) GENERAL MEMBERSHIP – shall be open to University of Wisconsin Law School students who
have paid annual dues. The member is in good standing when he or she has paid membership
dues. General members in good standing are eligible to vote in general meetings and elections.
(b) ALUMNI MEMBERSHIP – shall be open to any alumnus or alumna of the Indigenous Law
Students Association who has paid annual dues. Alumni members are not eligible to vote in
general meetings or elections.
Section 2:
Any member may resign by filing a written resignation.
Section 3:
Membership in this Association is not transferable.
Section 4: Benefits
To be considered for general travel expenses and moot court funding, members must be in good
standing by October 30th for that respective academic year.
Article III
Section 1: Meetings
(a) There shall be no fewer than four (4) meetings each academic year. At a minimum, these
meetings shall be: one in September, a second during the Fall Semester, one between the end of
Winter Break and the beginning of Spring Break, and an Election Meeting after Spring Break and
before the last day of Spring Semester classes. The President shall have the power to specify the
day, time and place of these meetings are to be held and shall give proper notice of all meetings.
(b) The President shall call a general meeting at the request of three (3) members.
(c) The President may conduct meetings by telephone when necessary, but must obtain the
approval of a majority of the general membership to adopt any measure.
Section 2: Voting
Most business will be carried on by consensus. Consensus shall mean general agreement of those
members in good standing who are present. In the event that not all general members agree on an
issue, any general member in good standing or officer may request votes to be cast by the general
members who are present at the meeting. The majority of the vote shall be necessary for adoption of
the business unless a greater proportion is required by these bylaws.
Section 3: Election of Officers
(a) Nominations can come from general members in good standing. Members may nominate
themselves or others. Nominations can be made after notice of the election meeting is made by
email from the Secretary. Nominations can be submitted via email to the Secretary or during the
election meeting.
(b) All officers except the First Year Representative will be elected at the Election Meeting,
scheduled in accordance with Article II, Section 1(a). Newly elected officers will begin their duties
immediately.
(c) Nominees will be given an opportunity to address the membership at the Election Meeting.
All nominees seeking office should be present at the Election Meeting; however, a nominee who is
unable to attend the election meeting may ask another member in good standing to speak on his
or her behalf.
(d) Votes for the election of officers will be accepted only from those present at the Election
Meeting; election of officer votes will not be accepted by proxy.
(e) The Secretary will coordinate the balloting process at the election meeting by providing the
names of all proper nominations, collecting all ballots, and reporting to the membership on the
results at the election meeting.
(f) Election of the First-Year Representative election will be held at the first general membership
meeting in October or thereafter; otherwise, said election will follow the same procedures as the
election of other officers.
(g) Where two nominees are running for an officer position and a tie occurs, the nominees may
give an optional speech, and a second vote would take place; if a second tie occurs the tie will be
decided by a coin flip. Where three or more nominees are running for one officer position, in the
event of a tie between the top vote holders, the top vote holders may give an optional speech, and
a second election will be held. If a second tie occurs the tie will be decided by a coin flip.
Article IV
Section 1: Officers
(a) There shall be a President, Vice President, Vice President of Academic Affairs, Secretary,
Treasurer, Community Liaison, LEO Representative and First Year Representative.
(b) The PRESIDENT shall preside at meetings of the general membership and shall carry out the
duties necessary to the fulfillment of the general purpose of the Indigenous Law Students
Association. The President also serves on the LEO Executive Council.
(c) The VICE PRESIDENT shall preside at meetings in the absence of the President and shall
undertake other duties at the request of the President. The Vice President shall be responsible for
chairing the annual Coming Together of the Peoples Conference planning committee.
(d) The VICE PRESIDENT OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS shall be responsible for coordinating the annual
NNALSA Moot Court competition on behalf of the Indigenous Law Students Association participants.
He or she shall also be responsible for responding to the academic needs of members that may
include coordinating tutorials with other LEO organizations, creating academic support services, and
representing the academic needs of the Indigenous Law Students Association within the Law School.
(e) The SECRETARY shall maintain a complete record of all meetings of the general membership,
shall carry out correspondence at the direction of the membership, and shall maintain a membership
list including names, addresses, and phone numbers of the members. The Secretary shall be
responsible for the maintenance of the ILSA email listserv. This responsibility may be delegated to
another member in good standing who will operate under the Secretary’s supervision.
(f) The TREASURER shall keep and maintain an account of all monies that enter into the treasury and
all monies disbursed. He or she shall keep all funds in a bank or other financial institution in an
account in the name of the Indigenous Law Students Association. At the end of his or her term of
office, he or she shall transfer the account to the new treasurer. The treasurer shall report to the
membership on the status of the treasury, at a minimum, at the four meetings required under
Article III, Section 1(a). The Treasurer shall be responsible for drafting an annual ILSA budget and
for associated fundraising responsibilities. The Treasurer will be a member of the Coming Together
of the Peoples Conference planning committee.
(g) The FIRST-YEAR REPRESENTATIVE will act as a liaison between the first year class and the ILSA
officers, coordinate the outline bank for ILSA members, and other duties assigned by the officers.
(h) The LEO REPRESENTATIVE shall represent ILSA to the Legal Education Opportunity committee and
serve on the LEO Executive Council, where he or she will represent the interests of ILSA. The LEO
Representative shall supply written reports to ILSA following LEO Executive Council meetings, and
shall assist in coordinating the LEO Banquet.
(i) The COMMUNITY LIAISON will work with the campus community to coordinate events,
communicate existing events to ILSA, and coordinate ILSA public relations outside of the law school
and campus. He or she will be responsible for maintaining contact with prospective ILSA students
and will be given the first opportunity to attend recruiting trips as a representative of ILSA. The
Community Liaison will be responsible for publicity for the Coming Together of the Peoples
Conference and will be a member of the conference planning committee. The Community Liaison
shall be responsible for the maintenance of the ILSA website. This responsibility may be delegated
to another member in good standing who operates under the Community Liaison’s supervision.
(j) The term of office shall begin immediately upon conclusion of the election meeting, and shall
terminate at the conclusion of the following year’s election meeting.
(k) Treasurer, Vice President of Academic Affairs, Community Liaison, and LEO Representative may
be combined with other officer positions when necessary.
(l) If any officer resigns or is unable to fulfill the duties of office, the general membership shall
elect a successor by majority vote at the next general meeting.
(m) Any Officer who accepts a position on the ILSA Executive Board must contribute to the
institutional memory of his or her office by passing on documents that are important to discharging
the position’s duties and documents that would reasonably assist the next Officer in that position.
This shall also include documents that any previous Officers created and passed on through this
process (i.e., project binders, position guidelines, general work product, outlines, notes, etc.).
Failure to abide by this section or purposefully withholding previous created documents may result
in sanctions against that person that are deemed appropriate by the Executive Board for such
conduct.
Article V
Section 1: Organizational Funds
(a) The President and/or Treasurer are the sole signatories on the organizational account.
(b) The President and/or Treasurer have the authority to make allocations up to two hundred-and-
fifty dollars ($250). Such allocations must be reported to the general membership upon request.
(c) The Treasurer has the authority to make allocations between two-hundred-and-fifty dollars
($250) and five-hundred dollars ($500) with the approval of the President and one other officer.
Such allocations must be reported to the general membership upon request.
(d) Any allocations over five-hundred dollars ($500) must be ratified by the general membership.
(e) Any monies donated or received through fundraising activities must be reported to ILSA and
deposited into the organizational account at the earliest convenience.
Article VI
Section 1: The Annual Conference
There shall be an annual conference free of cost and open to all students and the general public
that deals with issues that affect Indigenous Peoples.
Article VII
Section 1: Expulsion and Removal
(a) A member may be expelled from this Association by a 4/5 vote of the entire general
membership. Before any action for expulsion is taken, the member shall be given a written
statement of the charges against him or her at least 30 days before the general meeting. The
members shall be given the opportunity to appear and answer the charges at the general meeting.
The decision of the general membership shall be final.
(b) An officer may be removed and relieved of his or her duties for cause after an appropriate
hearing and a vote of the general membership. Any officer who is subject to a removal hearing shall
be excused of his or her duties pending the outcome of the vote of the general membership. Once
an officer has been properly served notice of the removal hearing, he/she shall be suspended of
his/her duties until the outcome of the general membership vote.
(c) The general membership shall appoint an interim officer by majority vote.
(d) In cases where it is not possible for a meeting of the membership to be called or an emergency
basis, the officer can be suspended, after notice received, and the board can appoint an interim
officer by consensus.
(e) An officer who has been relieved of his or her duties under Article VII, Section 1(b) shall remain
a member in good standing unless a vote also is taken under Article IV Section 1(a) to expel the
member from the Association.
Article VIII
Section 1: Amendment
The articles of the Association are subject to an amendment by 2/3 vote of the general membership
in attendance or at a special meeting if the notice of the meeting includes mention of proposed
amendment.
