There's not much external people can do about tribal governments. I do think that opinions will change if the Federal government steps up and rules it is legal everywhere.
That's an interesting issue. On the one hand, these Native Americans need their freedom. On the other, they are being bigots. What can anyone do, though? It's not like we can give economic sanctions...
What. The native american has the concept of Two-Spirit since much longer before these kinds of laws. Gender roles has not been enforced rigidly back then, and sexual orientation was not a big concern. What changed?
I guess they just have a bigot as tribe leader right now. Their government is very one-leader-centric, isn't it?
What changed was cultural obliteration. Many Native Americans are very disconnected from their old heritage. And two-spirit was common in some North American tribes, but I don't know how salient it was with the Navajo.
I always got the impression Native Americans were among the most accepting of homosexuality but time and time again I sadly been proven wrong. And now here we go again.
It should also be noted that there are many, many tribes that do recognize such marriages, and others where the 'law' is ambiguous. Quite a few tribes have taken a very progressive stance on this issue, relative to the areas/states they live in. Same-sex marriage under United States tribal jurisdictions - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia In my home state, Michigan, some of the local tribes are the only jurisdictions where it is currently recognized. It's sad to see these Western Tribes taking such a stance, but matters could still chnage, hopefully sooner than later.
It's a mix of disconnection from their original culture because of a forced cultural assimilation and Christian influence. The two main tribes detailed in the article are the Cherokee and Navajo nations who, if memory serves me correct, have a greater presence of Christian culture. There are still many tribes out there that are much more accepting of equal marriage. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
There are also several tribes that allow same-sex marriage, as well as those that don't. It's really not the place of the U.S. government to tell them what laws they can and can't have. Ironically, the Navajo used to perform same-sex marriages (before Europeans took over). People seem to think that Native tribes are all the same, when they are in fact very different.
Not surprised. The tribal government does so many questionable things, which is why the living conditions aren't good on the reservations.
Surely them running casinos is enough of a sign of them selling out their heritage - I cannot think of anything so far removed from their roots. Its probably a bit like the hypocrisy of Irish Travellers in the UK...who now no longer travel and instead simply set up permanent camps at the taxpayer's expense claiming "cultural heritage".
Do they all run casinos? ........ Where local authorities have provided proper facilities for travelers as they are legally obliged they do in fact pay council tax