Navajo lawmakers continue to debate long-delayed same-sex marriage bill
Cleo Pablo made headlines in 2015 after she took on the Ak Chin Indian Community with a lawsuit seeking marriage equality rights within the tribe, which at the time didn't recognize same-sex marriage.
In 2017, two years later, Ak-Chin tribal courts declared that same-sex couples have a fundamental right to marry under the constitution of the Ak-Chin community and the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968. This groundbreaking decision set a precedent that might be considered by other tribal members from different tribes.
Now, six years on, the Navajo Nation is grappling with whether the tribal government should recognize same-sex unions. Tribal leaders would have to repeal the 2005 Diné Marriage Act that has prohibited same-sex marriages.
LGBTQ advocates and allies on the Navajo Nation are trying to fight the same discrimination Pablo had endured before she decided to sue her tribe. So far, the measure has been sent to a study committee with no action, and some council members want to hand off the final decision to voters.
A difficult decision to sue her own tribe
Pablo described what she called “a culmination of things" that led her to sue her tribe nearly a decade ago.
“First, was to take care of my family and provide them with medical insurance and the same right as any legally married couple,” she told The Arizona Republic in an email interview.
Her wife, Tara Roy-Pablo, had to pay for her insurance separately through her employer. Cleo Pablo’s employer provided a better, less expensive plan, but “I worked for the community, and through work policy, 'legally married' meant man and woman only.”
After discussing it with her employer's human resources department, she was told she was not eligible for any family benefits, including her wife and her two children. And it wasn’t only about medical insurance; it also affected housing.
“I lived on the reservation with my son and, because Ak-Chin does not recognize same-sex marriage, my wife would not be allowed to move into my home,” she said.
Her first step was to talk to council members about why denying same-sex couples access to employee benefits for their families was wrong, she said.
“I really was left with no choice but to sue my own community,” said Cleo Pablo. “I contemplated this for a long time because this is my community and my home. Once I started the process to sue my community, I knew it would be an overwhelming and negative experience.”
After much deliberation and reflecting on her own parents' teaching of treating everyone fairly, being kind and respecting her community, she knew she had to change things and hired attorney Sonia Martinez.
“Now, in my community, same-sex couples are able to live together, raise their families and be treated equally,” said Cleo Pablo. “ Also, any same-sex married couple that are native or not who work for Ak-Chin have access to the same benefits as any other legally married couple.”
No council vote: Will Navajo voters decide same-sex marriage issue? Council tables its own proposal
Navajo bill wouldn't 'force anyone to do anything'
The sponsor of the legislation to repeal the 2005 Diné Marriage Act, Council Delegate Seth Damon, had introduced the bill in June during the start of the Navajo Nation Pride festivities.
“Through our own Navajo Nation government, through processes of probate, through burial services, through social services, through our Navajo Nation social services to adopt a child ultimately to even get child support, we don't have rights for same-sex couples,” said Damon.
“We aren’t here to force anyone to do anything,” said Damon. “What we are here is to change the premise of what we have been moving forward. We are all five-fingered people.”
The legislation doesn’t force churches or medicine people to perform traditional weddings for same-sex couples if they don’t want to, Damon said.
“Although this legislation repeals the prohibition against same-sex marriage, the method for a traditional Navajo wedding ceremony outlined involving a man and a woman shall remain unchanged," the legislation states. "Traditional Navajo society places a great importance upon the institution of marriage and believes that the elaborate ritual of marrying using the traditional method is believed to be blessed by the "Holy People." This blessing ensures that the marriage will be stable, in harmony.”
Aiden Joe addressed the Navajo leadership to express his support for the legislation. Joe said he is well aware of the inequalities facing same-sex partners who wish to be married. He married his husband in 2023 and said their marriage is recognized in Arizona but not on the Navajo Nation.
“Globally all humans do deserve this right without the discrimination of government. And I know a lot of people that are waiting for the Navajo Nation to act so they can get married as well on the Navajo Nation,” said Joe. "I truly believe that same-sex marriage is a human right and history reflects that as well. I'm a gay Navajo, proud, and I am married in the state of Arizona but unfortunately not recognized under the Navajo Nation tribe.”
LGBTQ rights: At Pride event, Navajo leaders renew calls for community support, marriage equality
Navajo Nation leaders hesitating
In October, days before the Navajo Nation Council convened for its fall council session, the legislation to repeal the 2005 Diné Marriage Act was tabled in the last committee and scheduled for a work session.
Six of the 24 council delegates were present during that November work session, which seemed odd to the bill's backers after the decision to table the measure and send it to a work session was seen as dire during the previous debate.
Those who actually made it or called in asked Damon if he’d consider withdrawing the legislation to repeal the 2005 Diné Marriage Act and sponsor a new measure to send the issue to voters. He refused.
“I am not going to sponsor a legislation for a referendum. In 2005, four councils ago passed a resolution,” said Damon. "That body passed the Diné Marriage Act, that legislation specifically identified marriage between a man and a woman. At no point did they consider a referendum to put that law into place. At no point did have any public comment to put that law into place. That was made by leadership in this (council) chamber and because of that, I believe that this chamber, under this body, has that same right to make that decision.”
This sentiment was expressed by co-sponsor Eugenia Charles Newton during her presentation before the committee during the October debate. Damon noted this is the first time this legislation has ever made it this far at the committee level.
“Under the 24th Navajo Nation Council, we did not even get this far,” said Damon of past attempts. “Under the 25th Navajo Nation, we might not get to the end game. But we are getting there; we are continuously having this conversation.”
What does the legislation do?
Damon's bill would strike out the language in the 2005 Diné Marriage Act that states marriage between persons of the same sex is void and prohibited.
“The key factor in here is that it recognizes that every language in here on a marriage certificate would be recognized by the Navajo Nation,” said Damon. “Whatever gender you are.”
Throughout the legislation, the words husband and wife are stricken out and replaced with the word "spouses," such as in the case of marriage certificates and property rights and a liability section.
“Specifics on these certain laws we have on the books within the Navajo Nation really tries to say that we as a Navajo people are not only going to recognize just a man and woman but spouses,” said Damon, “individuals who are wanting to be recognized by our Navajo Nation government, not by parties that are outside of the Navajo Nation, but specifically within the Navajo Nation government.”
Navajo President Buu Nygren and Vice President Richelle Montoya have supported the legislation and will likely sign off on it if the council decides to pass it.
"We love them with everything we have," said Montoya to tribal leaders during the work session. "Their accomplishments, dreams, goals, hopes, everything that they have. We receive, especially now during the holidays, as they come home to us from faraway cities, towns they are working in, and they bring home their significant others home to us and we welcome them. We are that type of people, we love, care, honor and are respectful."
Council Delegate Casey Johnson is one of the delegates who have asked if the referendum route would be best. He pointed out that the legislation garnered over 200 public comments in opposition and only six comments that have supported it.
A large majority of the opposition has come from religious interests, mostly Christian and Navajo traditionalists, people who have expressed their dismay and said supporting this legislation would be defying God or Navajo teachings.
Damon said if any delegates wish to add an amendment stating that church groups or Navajo medicine man groups or individual medicine people don't agree with same-sex marriage, he would agree.
"This is a recognition specifically for the Navajo Nation government. This isn't forcing any church groups or medicine people across the Navajo Nation to comply or that they have to abide by this law," said Damon. "If you are a church organization or a medicine person that doesn't support this, by all means, you don't have to support this. The government can't force someone to marry somebody, but what it does is give that application that the government recognizes same-sex marriage."
'Family, hard work and unconditional love'
Although the debate among delegates has mostly been centered around community members and religious organizations or whether the issue belongs in a referendum, little has been said about those who are part of the LGBTQ community or the type of discrimination they have been dealing with all their lives.
A new report released Nov. 30 by The Trevor Project, the leading suicide-prevention organization for LGBTQ young people, found that Indigenous LGBTQ young people had 66% higher odds of a past-year suicide attempt compared to their non-Indigenous peers.
Over half of Indigenous LGBTQ young people (54%) reported seriously considering suicide in the past year. Nearly a quarter (23%) reported a past-year suicide attempt.
Transgender and nonbinary Indigenous young people reported higher rates of suicide risk compared to their LGBQ peers, with 58% seriously considering suicide and more than a quarter (27%) reporting a past-year suicide attempt.
Some 70% of Indigenous LGBTQ young people reported experiencing a “change attempt” to alter their LGBTQ identity, which was associated with nearly two-and-a-half times higher odds of a past-year suicide attempt.
Indigenous LGBTQ young people experience disproportionate structural inequities compared to their non-Indigenous peers,with nearly half (48%) experiencing food insecurity, over one-third (34%) reporting experiences with homelessness, and over one in 10 (12%) having been in foster care.
The report was created using data from a national sample of nearly 2,000 Indigenous LGBTQ young people ages 13–24 who participated in The Trevor Project’s 2023 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ Young People.
“Our latest report captures the unique experiences and mental health outcomes of Indigenous LGBTQ young people, which are consistent with existing findings that document higher rates of mental health challenges, suicide risk, and structural inequities among this population when compared to their non-Indigenous peers,” said Dr. Ronita Nath, Vice President of Research at The Trevor Project.
Nath emphasized that the lasting effects of historical trauma and the current lack of investment in tribal communities are significant factors in the situation. This underscores the immediate and crucial necessity for implementing systemic changes and directing investments towards culturally specific resources for the well-being of young people in these communities, Nath said.
"Indigenous LGBTQ young people deserve mental health care that affirms and respects all aspects of their identities and lived experiences: their LGBTQ identities, their age, and their tribal cultures and traditions," she said.
"I believe each tribe has similar teachings of being kind to one another, respect and love one another and/or protect our way of life."
Cleo Pablo grew up with a loving and kind father who taught her that "we are not here to judge but to help one another," she said. "We all make mistakes, but we learn from them. He taught me the value of family, hard work, and unconditional love."
Her mother is originally from the Tohono O'odham Nation and was raised by her grandmother. Cleo Pablo and her siblings were raised traditionally, and their mom was strict about what being O'Odham meant.
"We were taught to respect and care for our elders, our family and practice our culture and traditions," she said. "Traditions and culture tell us that as native people, we are to treat people with kindness, help and care for one another. For centuries, we have lived that, and this has been the norm."
Cleo Pablo's upbringing taught her that she was to be an obedient "Indian woman who married a native male" and fulfill traditional roles. She didn't question this until she went out in the real world, she said.
"I met my husband in the military, had our son, but life was still evolving for me," she said. "As you get older, you learn things about yourself, and you start to question the expectations of yourself."
She said she may have questioned her sexuality but never her beliefs or her traditions and culture. She never turned her back on what her parents taught her.
"Being gay doesn't make you any less honorable, traditional or less of a native," she said. "Each tribe is rich in culture and citing tradition to not allow same-sex marriage is a cop-out because these are the traditions and practices that have shaped each individual. I believe each tribe has similar teachings of being kind to one another, respect and love one another and/or protect our way of life."
Arlyssa Becenti covers Indigenous affairs for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Send ideas and tips to arlyssa.becenti@arizonarepublic.com.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Navajo Nation Council continues same-sex marriage bill. Here's why
