It's not just state governments and religious groups that are being asked to amend their rules and laws to allow for same-sex marriage rights. The Suquamish tribe in Seattle, Wash., was petitioned to begin granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Heather Purser, a woman from the Suquamish tribe, was raised off the reservation, but lives in Seattle now. And she recently came out as a lesbian to her tribal community at Western Washington University.
“When I came out I felt even more isolated from the world, and decided if I could get my people to support me and allow gay marriage, maybe the hurt would go away,” Purser said.
So she asked them. Repeatedly. They assigned her a tribal attorney who asked her to get evidence of acceptance within the community. But she let the issue drop before the case was over. Then she met “someone incredible.” Purser's family encouraged her to pursue the new law again, and she won! Tribe members voted unanimously to allow the Suquamish tribal court to issue marriage licenses to unmarried couples regardless of their gender.
Heather Purser, a woman from the Suquamish tribe, was raised off the reservation, but lives in Seattle now. And she recently came out as a lesbian to her tribal community at Western Washington University.
“When I came out I felt even more isolated from the world, and decided if I could get my people to support me and allow gay marriage, maybe the hurt would go away,” Purser said.
So she asked them. Repeatedly. They assigned her a tribal attorney who asked her to get evidence of acceptance within the community. But she let the issue drop before the case was over. Then she met “someone incredible.” Purser's family encouraged her to pursue the new law again, and she won! Tribe members voted unanimously to allow the Suquamish tribal court to issue marriage licenses to unmarried couples regardless of their gender.
The Native Americans have frequently been ahead of the White Man when it come to things involving the natural world and the workings of men and women.