Is same-sex marriage legal on Native American tribal lands?

Answer 1

The answer is complicated. In the United States, all Native American tribal lands are autonomous. They each have their own laws. Tribal laws only apply to members of the tribe when they are on tribal lands. When non-members enter tribal lands, state laws apply. When members step off of tribal lands, state laws apply.

Pursuant to Section 2 of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act ("DOMA"), no tribe can be forced to recognize a same-sex marriage, even if their tribal lands are located in a state where same-sex marriage is legal. So far, few tribes have legalized or banned same-sex marriage. Most have done neither.

These tribes have legalized same-sex marriage:

1. Coquille Tribal Reservation (in Oregon, USA) (May 24, 2009);
2. Suquamish Tribal Reservation (in Washington state, USA) (August 1, 2011); and,
3. Reservation of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians (in Michigan, USA) (March 8, 2013); and,

4. Cheyenne and Arapaho Reservation (in Oklahoma, USA) (October 2013).

Effective June 2013, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, an agency of the federal government, is required to recognize valid same-sex marriages.