Constitution of the First Nations Student Association of Camosun College • Ratified October 28, 1999
Preamble: Acknowledgement of the Territory
The First Nations Student Association represents many Nations and peoples. We acknowledge that we live and study on the traditional territories of the Lekwungen, Esquimalt, and Saanich peoples. We thank these Nations for their hospitality. We will be mindful of the values, beliefs and traditions of this land, and will always strive to be respectful to the local People and their ancestors.
PURPOSE OF THIS CONSTITUTION
The purpose of this constitution is to guide First Nations students who choose to contribute to the First Nations student community at Camosun College by participating in the First Nations Students Association. This constitution is meant to encourage participation, sharing of knowledge and other resources, and sharing of responsibilities to ensure that the work of the First Nations Student Association is achieved and serves, in the best ways possible, First Nations students at Camosun College.
Index of Constitution of the First Nations Student Association:
- 1. WHO WE ARE
- 2. DEFINITIONS
- 3. WHAT WE DO
- 4. WHEN WE MEET
- 5. ESTABLISHING A FNSA COUNCIL/LEADERSHIP CONFERENCES
- 6. RESPONSIBILITIES OF COUNCIL
- 7. FNSA COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP
- 8. COUNCIL PORTFOLIOS
- 9. ADVISORY MEMBERS OF FNSA COUNCIL
- 10. TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF COUNCIL PORTFOLIOS
- 11. MAKING DECISIONS
- 12. FNSA COUNCIL MEETINGS
- 13. GENERAL MEETINGS
- 14. DECISION MAKING AT GENERAL MEETINGS
- 15. ACKNOWLEDGING DEPARTING MEMBERS
- 16. RESIGNATION OF FNSA COUNCIL MEMBERS
- 17. REMOVAL OF COUNCIL MEMBERS
- 18. MAKING AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION
1. WHO WE ARE
The name of our organization is the FIRST NATIONS STUDENT ASSOCIATION ("FNSA").
2. DEFINITIONS
I FNSA
- a) "First Nations Student" means a student currently registered at Camosun College ("Camosun") who is descended from the indigenous peoples of North America and includes status, non-status, Métis, Inuit, and Native American people;
- b) “Member of FNSA" means any First Nations Student at Camosun;
- c) "FNSA Alumni" ("Alumni") means any former Camosun student who has met the criteria of a "First Nations Student."
II FNSA COUNCIL
- d) "FNSA Council" means the body that provides leadership and guidance to FNSA;
- e) "Member of FNSA Council" means a member of FNSA who is responsible for one or more portfolios set out under this Constitution;
- f) "Advisory Member of FNSA Council" means a person, as defined in Section 8, who may attend FNSA Council meetings to provide information and advice.
III FNSA MEETING
- A “FNSA meeting” is any formal meeting of FNSA members including FNSA Council meetings, Leadership Conferences, Annual General Meetings and Extraordinary General meetings.
IV OTHER RESOURCES
- h) "First Nations Advisory Council" ("FNAC") is the community body composed of representatives of First Nations organizations, including FNSA, and agencies that provide advice and direction to the college regarding First Nations issues;
- i) "First Nations Education" ("FNED") is the Camosun department that provides services to First Nations students, liaison between Camosun and the First Nations community, and a variety of other responsibilities to enhance First Nations student success and comfort at Camosun.
3. WHAT WE DO
I The purpose of FNSA is:
- a) To provide a comfortable and supportive environment in which First Nations students can pursue their academic goals;
- b) To foster cultural, social, and recreational opportunities for First Nations students at Camosun, and to promote spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and physical well-being of First Nations students at Camosun;
- c) To contribute to special activities that welcome First Nations students, provide cultural and social education, and provide inspiration and opportunities for First Nations students to achieve their educational goals.
II The purpose of FNSA Council is:
- a) To act on the direction of FNSA members;
- b) To confer with FNED to ensure that First Nations student needs are addressed;
- c) To ensure that First Nations students at Camosun have access to services and resources by interacting with other organizations and agencies;
- d) To advise Camosun and represent FNSA through the FNAC and the Camosun College Student Society ("CCSS").
4. WHEN WE MEET
We value communication and cooperation and expect our members to work together, on an on-going basis, to reach common goals. Our formal meetings will take place as follows:
- a) An Annual Leadership Conference to elect FNSA Council members will be held early in the Fall semester;
- b) The FNSA Council will meet at least ten (10) times per year;
- c) An Annual General Meeting will be held early in the Winter semester to review Council activities;
- d) Extraordinary General Meetings may be called as described in Section 12.
5. ESTABLISHING A FNSA COUNCIL/LEADERSHIP CONFERENCES
FNSA Council consists of the CCSS First Nations Student Executive and the Saanich Adult Education Centre Director, both of whom are elected through CCSS procedures, and FNSA members who are elected at the annual Leadership Conference. Council members will serve one year terms. Council will work together by consensus, as described in Section 10.
- a) A Leadership Conference will be held each fall to establish a FNSA Council;
- b) The conference will be called at least two weeks in advance by FNSA Council members whose terms are coming to a close. Ideally, the date of the Leadership Conference will be known before the end of August;
- c) The Leadership Conference will be publicized by posters which will be placed on all campuses, communication with FNED, the FNSA newsletter, and the general student newspaper;
- d) A nomination box will be set up in the FNED office two weeks prior to the Leadership Conference; as well potential Council members may be nominated at the Leadership Conference;
- e) Election of the Speaker, Budget and Finance Councillor, Information Councillor, Cultural Councillor, and Members At Large will take place at the Leadership Conference.
6. RESPONSIBILITIES OF COUNCIL
The major responsibility of FNSA Council Members is to school and studies. Each FNSA Council Member will be responsible to FNSA Council. FNSA Council is responsible to FNSA. FNSA Council Members will work together to plan and present cultural, educational, and social activities. In addition, FNSA Council is responsible for the following:
- a) Call FNSA Council and general meetings;
- b) Call Leadership Conferences;
- c) Call Annual General Meetings;
- d) Call Extraordinary General Meetings;
- e) Assist with the implementation of FNSA objectives and purposes;
- f) Exercise care, diligence, skill, and respect in performing duties as a FNSA Council Member;
- g) FNSA Council Members will, whenever possible, form committees to better enable them to achieve the goals of their positions and of FNSA in general. Committee members may be any member of FNSA including Alumni and Advisory Members.
7. FNSA COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP
- a) The FNSA Council membership of FNSA shall consist of FNSA members who are responsible for six portfolios;
- b) At least one member will be a Lansdowne student and at least one an Interurban student;
- c) Ideally, FNSA Council will have male and female representatives and will include at least one student from one of the Nations on whose territory we live and study;
- d) Four members of FNSA Council must be continually present to constitute a formal FNSA Council meeting;
- e) One person may take responsibility for one or more portfolios with the following exceptions:
- i One person may not hold more than one portfolio for which there is signing authority;
- ii The CCSS Executive position and the Speaker portfolio may not be held by the same person.
- f) Two or more people may share responsibility for one portfolio if FNSA members who attend the Leadership Conference agree. When this option is chosen, the members sharing the portfolio must clearly state in writing to other members of FNSA Council and to FNSA, via the newsletter or other means, how they are going to divide the tasks and responsibilities of that particular portfolio. If the shared portfolio includes signing authority, only one member of the group sharing the portfolio will have signing authority.
8. COUNCIL PORTFOLIOS
FNSA Council portfolios are as follows:
- a) Speaker
- b) First Nations Executive to the CCSS
- c) Saanich Adult Education Centre (SAEC) Director to the CCSS
- d) Budget and Finance Councillor
- e) Information Councillor
- f) Cultural Councillor
- g) There may also be At Large positions for members who want to contribute their specific talents to FNSA Council.
9. ADVISORY MEMBERS OF FNSA COUNCIL
A group of Advisory Members will be established to advise and support FNSA Council. These may include:
- a) an Elder or Elders;
- b) a representative from education or training programs at the Victoria Native Friendship Centre;
- c) a student from the University of Victoria;
- d) a First Nations high school student from School District 61, 62 or 63;
- e) a delegate from FNED.
All Advisory members will be invited by the new FNSA Council once it has been established. FNSA Council has the right to request the resignation of Advisory Members.
10. TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF COUNCIL PORTFOLIOS
a) Speaker:
- Accountable to FNSA Council and FNSA and speaks on behalf of FNSA Council;
- Responsible for editorials;
- Member of FNAC;
- With the First Nations Executive to the CCSS and FNED, coordinates special events, such as the First Nations Awareness Week and the annual Welcoming Feast;
- Liaises, on behalf of FNSA, with FNED.
b) First Nations Executive to the CCSS:
- Advocates for FNSA to the CCSS;
- Writes monthly reports to CCSS, which are also forwarded to FNSA Council and the FNAC;
- Liases on behalf of FNSA and CCSS with FNED;
- Member of FNAC;
- With Speaker and FNED, coordinates special events;
- Is responsible for the maintenance of the computer in the FNSA room;
- Confers with the Budget and Finance Councillor on all spending of FNSA money;
- Signing authority for all FNSA accounts;
- Is an elected position through CCSS election procedures and is a paid position through CCSS.
c) SAEC Director to the CCSS:
- Represents SAEC students who are registered Camosun College students to FNSA and the CCSS;
- Is responsible to ensure that SAEC students have access to FNSA programs and student newspapers;
- Ensures that SAEC students are aware of First Nations events and activities that taking place at Lansdowne and Interurban;
- Ensures that First Nations students at Lansdowne and Interurban are aware of First Nations events and activities that are taking place at SAEC;
- Is an elected position through CCSS election procedures and is paid honoraria through CCSS.
d) Budget and Finance Councillor:
- Develops annual budgets;
- Keeps financial records;
- Makes monthly financial reports to FNSA Council and, when appropriate, to CCSS;
- Confers with the First Nations Student Executive regarding FNSA accounts and spending;
- Is responsible for special accounts required for gaming activities;
- Develops a year-end budget report.
e) Information Councillor:
- With Speaker, develops agendas for FNSA meetings;
- Acts as recorder for FNSA meetings;
- Within 48 hours of FNSA meetings, informs FNSA Council members who were not able to attend those meetings about what took place;
- Maintains and distributes records of FNSA meetings.
f) Cultural Councillor:
- Coordinates cultural activities;
- Seeks out Elders and other cultural advisors to provide cultural services to FNSA members.
g) Members At Large:
- FNSA members who have specific talents that they wish to contribute to FNSA Council may be elected as Members at Large and take on responsibility for specific tasks or projects.
- There is no limit on how many times a particular member may serve on FNSA Council, as long as it is agreeable to the FNSA members gathered at the Leadership Conference.
- If a Council member can no longer serve, FNSA Council may name another candidate to serve until the next Leadership Conference.
11. MAKING DECISIONS
Decisions will be made by consensus among FNSA Council members. Advisory Members are expected to contribute to discussions but must respect the process of consensus building among FNSA Council members and need to exercise caution in terms of attempting to influence outcomes. The process of consensus must adhere to the following principles:
- The process is as important as the product;
- Every voice, opinion, and life experience is important;
- Discussion is on-going and the highest value is respect.
Ideally, the outcome of discussion is unanimous and unreserved agreement, but when it is not:
- a) FNSA Council Members continue to discuss the issue until they have reached an agreement that all can support, if not completely agree with. Each member must have the sense that he or she has not betrayed her or his values or belief system, or those of his or her ancestors and Elders by agreeing to a particular action;
- b) FNSA Council members who are concerned about a particular direction that other Council members wish to follow may agree to follow that direction for a time with the stipulation that discussion will be revisited after observing for a specific time period how well that direction is serving FNSA;
- c) If decision making breaks down, attempts will be made at mediation and if that is not successful, an extraordinary general FNSA meeting will be called by an Advisory Member of FNSA Council. The meeting will not be attended by regular FNSA Council members and will be facilitated by an impartial person. Advisory members of FNSA Council may attend to share information about the issue but may not take part in decision making. This meeting must be attended by at least 12 FNSA members. FNSA’s decision on the issue or issues will be final.
12. FNSA COUNCIL MEETINGS
- a) Regular meeting times for the Fall semester will be established and posted in FNSA facilities within one week of the Leadership Conference (see “When We Meet, sec 3);
- b) Regular meeting times for the Winter semester will be established and posted in FNSA facilities within one week of the beginning of classes;
- c) FNSA Council meetings may be called during the Spring and Summer sessions with one week’s notice. All FNSA Council members will be called and notice of meetings will be posted in FNSA facilities;
- d) All FNSA Council meetings will begin with a circle in which members speak to their feelings of well-being and shake hands with each other.
- Any FNSA member may attend and contribute to FNSA Council meetings but will not take part in decision making.
13. GENERAL MEETINGS
- a) An Annual General Meeting (“AGM”) will be held each year early in the Winter semester. The purpose of this meeting is to review FNSA Council activities, plan for future activities, and make amendments to this Constitution as necessary. Each FNSA Council member will make a report and be available for questions.
- i) The AGM will be called at least two weeks in advance by FNSA Council.
- ii) The AGM will be publicized by posters which will be placed on all campuses, communication with FNED, the FNSA newsletter, and the general student newspaper.
- b) An Extraordinary General Meeting (“EGM”) may be called by FNSA Council or by an Advisory Member of Council to deal with special circumstances or emergencies that require the voice of FNSA as a whole.
- i) Extraordinary General Meetings may be called with 24 hours notice.
- ii) Notices will be posted in any FNSA facilities and provided to FNED.
- iii) FNSA Council will reach as many FNSA members as possible by telephone and email;
- iv) EGMs must have a minimum of 12 people present to make decisions (see sec 14)
14. DECISION MAKING AT GENERAL MEETINGS
Decision making at General Meetings (AGMs and EGMs) may occur by private ballot or by a consensus process. If the consensus process is desired, the following will take place:
- a) Each member is given the opportunity to speak and there will be a call to decide if consensus has been reached;
- b) If consensus is not reached, the large group will break into small circles to discuss the issue. Each small circle will select a Speaker; each member of the small circle will be provided the opportunity to speak;
- c) Each Speaker will present the voice of his or her group and there will be a call to decide if consensus has been reached;
- d) If large group consensus still cannot be reached, the small circles will be reconfigured with different participants and the process will be repeated;
- e) If consensus is not reached at the return to the large group the issue will go to majority vote by private ballot.
15. ACKNOWLEDGING DEPARTING MEMBERS
All persons who have served on FNSA Council will be acknowledged for their contributions. The names of those who have served the previous year will be publicly announced by the Speaker at the annual Welcoming Feast in September.
In addition, whenever possible, members who are leaving FNSA Council will be presented with gifts, particularly when a member has been extremely generous with time, knowledge, and other resources.
16. RESIGNATION OF FNSA COUNCIL MEMBERS
FNSA Council members may resign for personal reasons without censure from other members of FNSA.
FNSA Council members who do not attend three consecutive meetings may be deemed to have resigned. If FNSA Council deems that an absent member has resigned, that member will be notified as such.
17. REMOVAL OF COUNCIL MEMBERS
FNSA Council members may be asked to resign. Reasons may include, but are not limited to: embezzlement of funds, harassment or defamation of other Council or FNSA members, inability or refusal to follow through with FNSA Council responsibilities, drug or alcohol intoxication at FNSA meetings, dismissal by Camosun, or academic probation by Camosun as long the probation is in effect.
The process by which a FNSA Council member may be asked to resign is as follows:
I) A letter will be drafted by FNSA Council to the member in question informing him or her that their resignation has been requested;
II) A FNSA Council meeting will be called to discuss allegations. If there is a decision to proceed with the process and the member in question does not offer his or her resignation, an Extraordinary General Meeting will be called:
- a) All reasonable efforts will be made to schedule the meeting to fit the member in question’s schedule;
- b) The member in question must attend the meeting and may bring a support person;
- c) The member in question’s unexplained absence may be deemed to be a resignation. If an emergency arises which will prevent the member in question from attending, he or she must inform FNSA Council and FNED prior to the meeting;
- d) An Advisory member of FNSA Council or a Camosun conflict specialist may facilitate. An Elder or Elders may be asked to attend to provide advice and direction;
- e) Before proceedings begin, an announcement will be made that participants are bound to Rules of Circle.” In this case “Rules of Circle” will be defined thus: “All participants will in turn be given the opportunity to speak openly and honestly. A talking stick, feather, or other implement may be used. All conversation and process will be kept in confidence and will not be discussed or shared with anyone who has not participated in the circle, although final decisions may be shared.”
- f) The allegations will be discussed brought forward to the member in question in an environment that provides safety to all;
- g) The member in question will be given the opportunity to respond to the allegations. If he or she has brought along a person for support that person may also speak;
- The facilitator will request that all attending the meeting voice their opinions on whether or not the member should be asked to resign or what other processes should take place;
- i) If at least 75% of FNSA members present ask that the member resign, the member will be deemed to have resigned.
18. MAKING AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION
Any proposed amendments to this constitution will be dealt with at the AGM.
- a) Proposed amendments must be put forward in writing to FNSA Council by December 10;
- b) The meeting must be called by January 10 and must take place by January 31;
- c) A copy of the actual wording of the proposed amendment must be published in the FNSA newsletter, the general student newspaper, submitted to the FNED Office, and be posted on all campuses;
- d) All FNSA Council members and Advisory members of FNSA Council members must be informed of the proposed amendment. This may be included with the AGM publicity as defined in Sec 12-a-i;
- e) When this Constitution is amended at an AGM, the meeting must be attended by at least 30 FNSA members including at least 75% of Council members.
