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Native law and gay marriage

Sometimes you never know from whence the next breakthrough in civil rights will come or when certain groups will decide to stand by you or let you fall. (I mean who can really explain the existance of Log Cabin Republicans?) And in this country with an enourmously varied native population there is certainly no way to declare a Native American perspective on gay marriage. Traditional native culture varied greatly, from accepting variant forms of gender and sexuality (one of the most well-known being the Two-spirit), to condemning it outright. However, these opinions could extend beyond the reservation, as the US must recognize tribal marriages. Under Cherokee law a lesbian couple in conservative Oklahoma married and tried to register with the state. As of now it seems that the Cherokee Nation is not completely behind the move, however, and proceedings seem to have stalled. But might other tribes feel differently? With a fairly sizeable native population here how might that affect the marriage debate in the Northwest?


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