The executive committee met again, but without Dennis.
Justine reported on the incorporation of our group:
"I started with one long phone call with an older fellow named Orville Kennedy. He's on the Riverbend executive committee. Since then, we have exchanged emails about the incorporation process. He has responded with lots of wisdom. He said that Riverbend's incorporating mostly to be recognized as a legal organization. He thought it would be difficult for the Riverbend TDG to rent an office in Riverbend without the incorporation. Then he mentioned banking, hiring people, civil courts, and a few other things. Right now, if someone wants to sue the Riverbend TDG, they can pick any member of the executive committee to sue."
"Those sound like good reasons," I said. "But are we big enough to need all this?"
Justine countered, "Well Riverbend didn't think they were big enough to have serious opposition."
Justine's comment shook us for a moment and left us thinking about Thelma.
Sally said, "We'll probably need that incorporation eventually. Why not go forward—just for us to get this experience? We're not exactly busy with many TDG activities these days."
I said, "So what're the drawbacks?"
Justine said, "Once we're officially registered with the government, it'll be more difficult to amend our constitution. Orville recommended that if anything needs fixing, we should fix it before we incorporate."
I said, "Last meeting, we agreed to increase the maximum age to 35. Is there any change of heart? Has anyone thought of another amendment to make to our constitution?"
Justine said, "Mr. Kennedy said that Riverbend put in mail-in ballots into their constitution. That increased voter turnout from 30% to 70%. Maybe that will help our turnout?"
I said, "I'm not sure mail-in ballots will work with so many Tankosin people changing addresses. But we should do better than our 20%."
Sky said, "How about an advance poll?"
The light hit me square in the face. Holding two of these events instead of one should double the exposure and opportunity to promote the elections. So obvious that we couldn't see it. I wondered if Thelma's spirit is helping us think in different ways.
"That's a good idea," I said, "I think we can do it within our constitution."
There was no disagreement, and Justine brought out our constitution and read out the relevant parts.
"I don't see anything in our constitution that says we can't do this," said Justine, "The executive committee can make that decision."
We concurred that an advance poll was within our current constitution. "Let's set up two voting days," I said. "I'll book The Stall for a second day."
The Stall is an outside vendor's stall that sits outside The Store. People can book The Stall for a day for a little commerce on the reservation. The Store brings in its customers. Those customers see The Stall, and they might stop by.Our TDG uses the stall once a year for voting and once a year for promotion. In the summer, Sky uses The Stall once a week to sell vegetables. Another Tankosin gardener takes a different day. Different artisans book The Stall a few days a year. Even some white people and church groups rent it out.
When our TDG books The Stall once a year for our elections, I sit in the booth between 4:00 to 8:00 pm. I take in the 20 or so members who vote, crossing their names off the list and giving each of them a ballot. We already had election day booked for The Stall. I would check to see when we could use it for the advance poll, about a week before the real election. I would give the information to Justine who would then do all the social media stuff.
Then we circled back to getting our group incorporated.
Justine had the right approach, "How about we see how this advance poll works first? Then we can decide."
