Membership
Be a part of the community
Join Us
The members of CAICC are dedicated to furthering diverse causes and the greater well being of American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians and First Nations people in the Chicago area. We seek to maximize effectiveness by creating a forum for fostering mutual aid, political support, positive public recognition, strategic alliances, collaborations, and partnerships. CAICC will convene organizational leaders and members of the Chicago American Indian community for dialogue, advocacy and planning with the goal of empowering CAICC to better address the issues and needs of the American Indian community.
Eligibility of Membership
Membership in the collaborative is open to organizations that are dedicated to serving the needs and interests of the Chicago American Indian community. Membership is also open to programs that have this mission but operate within larger non-Native controlled organizations that are independent of other CAICC members.
Roles and Responsibilities
- The members agree to the need for regular participation, timely minutes, and discrete dissemination of information as well as careful planning and sharing responsibility for tasks so as not to overburden any one particular organizational member;
- The members agree to meet regularly and sub-committees shall meet as needed. Steering Committee meetings are usually held every six weeks or 8-10 times a calendar year. Specifically, members agree to attend, at a minimum, 50% of all steering committee meetings and actively participate in at least one sub-committee.
- A community meeting shall be held at a minimum of once annually to provide an overview and discuss progress made towards the fulfillment of this Memorandum;
- The members recognize the importance of the youth voice and agree to reserve space for youth participants;
- Members will strive to be responsive to community and constituent-based input and ongoing goals and objectives are developed by CAICC for the Chicago-area community;
- Each member shall appoint a person to serve as the official contact and coordinate the activities of its own organization in carrying out the Memorandum.
- Organizations may abstain from participation in CAICC activities that are not allowed by their charters, by-laws or other legal restrictions without jeopardizing their membership in CAICC.
All organizations and programs that are interested in becoming a member of the Chicago American Indian Community Collaborative must sign the Memorandum of Understanding.
The term of the Memorandum is for a period of three years from the effective date of the agreement and will be reviewed at least once annually by CAICC to ensure that it is fulfilling its purpose and to make any necessary revisions.
