Pacific News Service: Don't Follow America: Tribes Should Lift Bans On Gay Marriage

Link

Don't Follow America: Tribes Should Lift Bans On Gay Marriage
Youth Commentary, Gabriel Duncan,
Pacific News Service, Aug 08, 2005

Editor's Note: American Indian tribes should follow their traditions of embracing diverse sexual orientations and support same-sex marriage, the writer says. Instead, some tribes are doing the opposite.

ALAMEDA, Calif.--I've long known that about half of America doesn't like gay people. It's been made pretty clear, most recently with the rejection of numerous marriage equality bills, and the approval of anti-gay marriage legislation in 37 states. But now, to my dismay, Indian Country is following the white man's lead.

First, the Navajo Nation Council passed a ban on same-sex marriages in June, overriding the veto of Navajo President Joe Shirley Jr. The legislation banned marriages between members of the same sex on the nation's largest Indian reservation. Now, justices in a Cherokee Nation courthouse are hearing arguments in the case of a Cherokee couple who wed, received their tribe-issued marriage certificate, and were set to live happily ever after -- that is, until an attorney contested the wedding. That's when everything got complicated.

...

Native peoples have historically had a more fluid view of sexuality. Bisexual, straight, gay, transgender -- hey, it didn't matter. That was how you were made and people weren't going to stone you to death just because you were different. In fact, your differences made you special.

"Two-Spirits" like myself -- the modern term for gay, lesbian, bi and trans Native Americans -- were hailed as medicine men.

As Two-Spirits, we were depended on to heal, keep the history of our people, and care for the children. Two-Spirited people were often "cookers," though they could also be warriors -- gender roles didn't really matter. Looking back at the travel journals of the Spanish conquistadors, you can find a story about fierce, bare-chested female warriors who obliterated an entire war party. And back then, if a man chose the basket instead of the bow, his tribe would socialize him with the women. No big deal.

I'm not trying to make this sound like the pre-contact world was one big free-love party, but gay marriage was certainly a "non-issue," as Navajo President Shirley said during the debate over the same-sex marriage ban. Sex and sexuality were natural. Love was unconditional. And diversity was celebrated.

...