Want to help the Democratic Party implement the 50-state strategy and organize big American Indian participation in the 2018 election? Then apply to be a tribal organizer for the South Dakota Democratic Party this summer!
The SDDP has posted its call for applications for seven tribal organizer positions to work with American Indian communities around the state:
- Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
- Crow Creek Sioux Tribe and Lower Brule Sioux Tribe
- Oglala Sioux Tribe
- Rosebud Sioux Tribe and Yankton Sioux Tribe
- Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate
- Rapid City
- Sioux Falls and Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe
These are just part-time positions—ten hours a week for twelve weeks, $15 an hour—but you’ll do important work getting your neighbors onto the voter roles and motivated to make meaningful change in our politics in 2018. Here’s what SDDP says it’s looking for:
- Preferred Applicants will be SD Tribal members living in the community where they will organize
- Develop a professional work relationship with tribal community members and leaders as the key stakeholders
- Represent the South Dakota Democratic Party in a professional manner
- Work with Statewide Field and Communication Directors on a weekly, or as needed, basis
- Handle voter tracking through the My Voter and My Campaign functions in VoteBuilder. Training will be provided to all hires on VoteBuilder.
- Register 30-40 voters per week. Continue to develop and refine voter contact goals.
- Mobilize consistent volunteer and voter registration efforts. Each community organizer will recruit a “Circle of 10.” Each Tribal Community Organizer will work with these key volunteers, and mobilize this team through the “Summer of Resistance” and continue this relationship throughout the 2018 election cycle, especially for early voting and GOTV efforts.
- Promote the message of the national Democratic Party and the South Dakota Democratic Party to tribal communities.
- Once training is completed, organizers should spend the 10 hours per week roughly divided in the following manner: 6 hours/voter registration;1 hour conference call with statewide leaders and trainers; 1 hour volunteer recruiting and training; and 2 hours community outreach attending events, meeting leaders, and distributing contact information. This could include school visit, attending pow-wows, local tribal council meetings, visiting tribal headquarters, IHS facilities, etc.
SDDP wants tribal organizers to start June 5. They’ll take your application letters and résumés via e-mail at info@sddp.org.
If you’re looking for a little longer-term gig, don’t forget the SDDP is still looking for an executive director. Send those applications directly to party chairwoman Ann Tornberg at ann@sddp.org.
Thanks for the article Cory
Whom the candidates are makes a difference in Indian country.
Plenty of people highly qualified for these jobs. 10 hours a week? Along with the ‘job requirements’???? Is this to entice a person that will put in more (much more than?) 10 hours a week?
Lots of expectations for 10 hours a week. Looks more like a 30-50 hour a week job to me. To be effective and visible. Maybe the 10 hours will evolve into more as the project progresses. Is that the plan? Other funding sources?
The big reservations take 2 hours just to drive across. You all know that.
The cynicism at government, real voter suppression and logistical issues around voting in state and federal for natives in SD has confounded many(Don’t forget the thousands living in the ‘urban towns’ of SD)
Recruiting a circle of 10 volunteers sounds good. Not easy to accomplish on 10 hrs (or more if the people want to volunteer)a week.
If 10,000 (out of potentially 25-30k) more eligible tribal members vote in 2018 SD elections this effort would be very successful.
There are many tribal members that have worked temporary jobs for the census bureau. Some of them would be great to find and apply.
This is a start. As part of a national movement it could grow.
Maybe it’s the thought that counts.
Makes good sense, Spike. $150 a week plus five bucks for each person registered sounds like job someone would work pretty hard at.
Insurance premiums through the roof will maybe make the job somewhat easier to get rid of the failures we see through russian leadership. http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-obamacare-trump-mismanagement-20170518-story.html Russia defeated us in a rigged game, we need to defeat them on a playing field that has rules.
I don’t think you can give a bonus for registering people. Just make the expenses go away for the hard work and hard driving that will be necessary to reach out to register voters in remote areas.
Mail In Voter Registration? It doesn’t look like this option is available in South Dakota. Is that right? Online voter registration isn’t available either?
~If you move to CO you can mail in your first time registration or register online. (Every piece of mail I get from the state includes a voter registration form. I leave them in common areas around town for newcomers.) Then you’ll be mailed a ballot for every election. You do have to buy your own stamps or you can drop the ballot off at a polling place without stamps. Millions of voters have voted by mail and less than ten cases of voter fraud have been filed.
Cory that would be a good part time job for you if you didn’t live so far from the Reservations.
Despite the likely illegal or at least unethical racial requirements for being hired, I don’t think Mr. H would go over real well in Bullhead, what with the arm waving and all.
I jest, Mr. H. You could easily do one of these jobs but you should run for the full-time position they still are hiring.
I live in the heart of the Cheyenne River Reservation, but I’m white and I really believe the most effective organizers would be tribal members. I can think of several tribal members here who’d be perfect for it and I hope they apply. Too many in Indian Country think there’s no point in voting and see no purpose in it and we can get even a quarter of that number to the polls, it would make a major difference. The problem lies in getting them to see that and follow through on it, and, again, I believe tribal members would be best for that.
Grud, the job has an Indian preference, not a requirement. In fact, the job that first brought be back to South Dakota twelve years ago was a position in Rapid City that was primarily focused on the reservations. And frankly, tribal members are, understandably, far more likely to be successful in this job given the major understandable trust issues many tribal members have regarding the wider culture.
@Laurisa … You probably know this but the group that will be speaking to Indians this election cycle will be emphasizing the truth that the Trump Administration has vowed to remove tribal sovereignty, disavow treaties and denigrate Indian culture, forever. Voting is more important now than ever before!
https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/news/politics/trumps-policies-threaten-tribal-sovereignty/
Laurisa, correct: one cannot register to vote online in South Dakota. Once can mail the form in:
https://sdsos.gov/elections-voting/voting/register-to-vote/default.aspx
Navigators or those that help enroll in the ACA/Obamacare can help to register voters as well. http://familiesusa.org/blog/2016/07/aca-assisters-can-help-consumers-register-vote
Irony alert, you can register to vote from the very site that wants to continue your right to the pursuit of domestic Tranquility through healthcare (one of those pesky pre-amble thingy’s at the beginning of the Constitution). One of the founding fathers dreams was to have complete access to the things that could make America Great, Period. Well played patriots, well played.
What can a dude or dudette do to assist these tribal workers?
Assist? Jerry, I suggest…