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Bylaws of the
Indigenous Peoples Specialty Group,
Association of American Geographers
Article 1: Name
Article 2: Purpose
Article 3: Membership
Article 4: Officers
Article 5. Meetings
Article 6. Committees
Article 7. Student Paper Competition & Award
Article 8. Dues & Fees
Article 9. Ratification & Amendment of By-Laws
Article 1: Name
The name of this organization is the Indigenous Peoples
Specialty Group (IPSG) of the Association of American Geographers (AAG).
Article 2: Purpose
The purpose of IPSG shall be:
• To foster pure and applied geographic research
and geographic education that
involves the indigenous peoples of the world, past and present
• To encourage approaches to research and teaching
that empower indigenous
peoples, and
• To help build relationships of mutual trust
between communities of
indigenous peoples and academic geographers.
The IPSG is organized exclusively for educational and
scientific purposes within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code.
Article 3: Membership
All members of the AAG, as well as non-geographers and
foreign geographers, are eligible for membership in the IPSG.
Regular Memberships: Any AAG member can
become a member of the IPSG by checking off the appropriate IPSG specialty
box on their AAG renewal form and by submitting dues for the specialty
group.
Associate Memberships: Associate membership
is a category of temporary membership in the IPSG that is available
to Indigenous students and educators with potential interests in geography,
but no formal AAG affiliation. Its goal is to advertise the potential
value of geography and the IPSG to a broader Native and Indigenous audience.
Article 4: Officers
The IPSG will be governed by an elected Board of Directors
consisting of three voting members, a Chair or Co-Chairs, a Secretary,
and a Treasurer. All officers will have one vote. Any graduate student,
faculty member, or other scholar devoted to work on indigenous peoples,
provided that person is an active member of the IPSG, is eligible to
hold office.
Election Procedure:
Officers will be elected by secret ballot submitted
to the Secretary after the annual AAG meetings and before the end
of May. Upon election, each officer will serve a two-year term. The
Chair and two Board members will be elected in even-numbered years.
The Treasurer, Secretary, and one Board member will be elected in
odd-numbered years. When the Secretary’s term is under consideration,
election ballots will be submitted to the Chair. A Call for Nominations
will be posted on the IPSG listserv around the time of the AAG annual
meetings and nominations will also be taken at the annual Business
Meeting. Self-nominations are acceptable.
Duties: The duties of the officers are
as follows:
Chair. The Chair or Co-Chair shall
preside over the annual specialty group meeting, perform appropriate
communication with the AAG central office regarding specialty group
news, such as awards announcements and recipients, coordinate between
other officers when appropriate, coordinate the annual student paper
competition, coordinate the annual elections, write the annual Chair’s
Report to the AAG, serve as a judge in the Student Paper Competition,
and represent the specialty group at official functions.
Secretary.
Secretary: The Secretary shall be responsible
for organizing and coordinating IPSG-sponsored sessions at the AAG
annual meetings. The Secretary shall also be responsible for the administration
and up-keep of the IPSG web page, including posting of officers and
by-laws, sponsored paper sessions, award recipients, and other specialty
group news. The Secretary will also manage the IPSG listserv. Sponsorship
of IPSG paper sessions at the AAG annual meeting and regional meetings
will be coordinated by the Secretary (in some instances, the Chair/Co-Chair
may take on these responsibilities with Secretary’s knowledge)
and these activities are to be reported to the Chair/Co-Chair for
inclusion in the annual report. The Secretary also shall receive and
count the ballots for elections during even-year elections.
Treasurer. The Treasurer shall keep
membership records, financial records, and administer the specialty
group’s financial affairs. The Treasurer shall manage all dues
and fees collected by the IPSG by coordinating with the AAG central
office. The Treasurer shall also coordinate with the AAG for dispersement
of IPSG funds to award recipients, invited speakers, and other specialty
group events or expenses. The Treasurer shall submit an itemized annual
report to IPSG members at the Business Meeting each year.
Board of Directors. The primary responsibility
of the three Board members shall be to judge the annual Student Paper
Competition. The Board will also assist and advise the Chair on specialty
group matters when needed, as well as implement short-term specialty
group projects and events as the need for such projects arises through
discussion by the IPSG membership.
Article 5. Meetings
The IPSG shall hold at least one Business Meeting open
to all members each year, usually during the AAG annual meeting. The
time and place for this meeting will be published in the Annual Meeting
program book.
Throughout the rest of the year, IPSG officers will organize and discuss
matters relevant to the specialty group via email, phone, and regular
mail and will subsequently post specialty group matters to the IPSG
listserv.
Article 6. Committees
The Student Paper Award Committee is the only standing
committee of the IPSG. Ad-hoc committees shall be developed as needed
at the discretion of the Officers, and may include, but are not limited
to, community outreach, awards, speaker or session series, teaching
matters or research endeavors.
Article 7. Student Paper Competition & Award
The Student Paper Award is given for a meritorious student
paper which addresses geographic research, education, mapping, theory
and/or applications by, for and/or about indigenous people(s).
Criteria: The award is based on evaluation
of a written manuscript by the IPSG Chair and Board. Papers will be
evaluated based on their overall contribution to new knowledge and
understanding in the geographies of indigenous peoples. That contribution
may be theoretical, empirical or methodological in nature.
Eligibility: To be eligible for this
competition, papers must be presented at the Philadelphia 2004 AAG
meeting, regional geography meetings or other professional conference,
and the student must be the first or sole author of the paper. Student
participants do not have to be members of the IPSG to enter the competition.
The same individual may receive the award twice in different years
for different papers.
Award Committee: The award committee
shall consist of the IPSG Chair(s) and the Board of Directors. In
the event that there are Co-Chairs, those Co-Chairs shall submit only
one evaluation, for a total of four possible paper evaluations from
the committee. Members of the award committee must recuse themselves
from judging the papers of current or former students, but they may
participate in discussions during which final selections are made.
Award. The Student Paper Award shall
consist of $150 and a one-year honorary student membership in the
IPSG. Whenever possible, the award recipient will also receive recognition
in the AAG Newsletter.
Article 8. Dues & Fees
IPSG Officers may assess annual dues from its membership.
Dues may be used to defray the costs of awards and for registration
fees, honoraria, and/or travel expenses for invited speakers at the
annual meeting of the AAG as well as the normal operating and maintenance
expenses incurred in running the specialty group. Other IPSG expenses
may be covered by dues if approved by a majority of the IPSG Officers.
Dues amounts must be approved by the AAG Council and a
simple majority of the IPSG membership. As of June 2003, IPSG dues are
$6 annually for AAG members, $1 for students, and $1 for associate members.
IPSG Officers may also establish reasonable fees for the distribution
of publications, workshops, symposia, or other activities.
No part of the net earnings of the IPSG shall inure to
the benefit of, or be distributable to, its members, trustees, officers
or other private persons except in the case of awards, honoraria or
expenses incurred by the Officers in the fulfillment of their duties
or honorarium and expenses to invited speakers. These expenses must
be reported to the Treasurer to be accounted for in the annual financial
report
Article 9. Ratification & Amendment of By-Laws
These by-laws will become effective when 1) unanimously
approved by the IPSG officers, 2) approved by the majority of members
of the IPSG discussion listserv who vote on this issue, 3) approved
by a simple majority vote at the Business Meeting in Philadelphia, 2004,
and 4) approved by the AAG.
Any IPSG member may propose an amendment to the by-laws.
Proposed amendments must be submitted to the Chair at least two months
before the annual Business Meeting. All IPSG members will be notified
of the proposed amendment by email on the IPSG listserv before the Business
Meeting, to allow time for discussion and input.
Revision of the by-laws is subject to the approval of
the majority of IPSG Officers and a simple majority vote from the members
who vote on the amendment(s) from the IPSG listserv and will go into
effect immediately following that meeting.
Article 10. Dissolution Clause
Upon dissolution of the IPSG, the Officers shall, after
paying or making provisions for the payment of all the liabilities of
the specialty group, dispose of all assets of the organization to the
AAG.
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