Meet Heather Purser, the Woman Who Singlehandedly Got Same-Sex Marriage Approved by the Suquamish Tribe

• I'm excited to meet and photograph this cool, brave woman next week! 

• I am perplexed in regard to this statement? "Tribes do not have to defy federal law to extend benefits and confer rights to the non-member partner of a tribal member in a same-sex couple. That can be done under the principle of “close socio-economic ties.” Would you explain this better so I can understand your point? If I interpret this correctly, you are stating that tribes grant non-tribal members, particularly non-Indians extended benefits and rights for having "close soci-economic ties"? WOW, really? Would you back that statement up by sorting a court case, or a federal law, or some kind of evidence to support this claim? I suspect someone might have told you so..because their cousin was married to an Indian..and they get money from the casino too, health benefits, and a house on the REZ, right? Oh, did I forget the check sent every month from the government just because? All kidding aside, sometimes I just have to laugh at the misinformation out there. Non-Indians cannot and are not granted the same status under any circumstances within a tribal community. The only benefit possibly afforded them is an opportunity to help their spouse harvest a traditional food source and possibly harvest cedar bark (if the forest service grants a permit). They may not harvest a traditional food source if their spouse is not present. And the food source is limited-they cannot become divers for the tribe. Funny, when is gathering food together when married considered a benefit..oh, when you are an Indian and the check your ancestors wrote to cover the right to practice that benefit was with a constitutional agreement..a treaty. And what did they pay with in order to sign that treaty..land, their lives, their religion, their language and for awhile their cultural identity shall I go on?? Another benefit a non-Indian gets from marriage to a tribal member is the benefit of being an eye witness of the impact of historical trauma on a community, the benefit of reading misinformation such as yours that may be read by subscribers that are ignorant of federal  tribal law and history and consider it to be true. I do not begrudge you your ignorance Rod, it is an entitlement of main stream culture-such an entitlement that ensures you can make  broad statements without the bother of  research and checking the accuracy of your resources or statements. The practice of entitlement and ignorance secured the exploitation of the land and resources by trying to exterminate and assimilate the Native American, now it is used to further the flame of racial and ethnic hate and depict "those Indians" and their spouses as having special privileges or benefits. Kudos for Ms. Purser for stepping up to the plate and taking a hit for the team. Native American tribes have long respected same sex unions without the  hysteria of the larger social debate. And as for the comments of su bud-you are one smart cookie..and a loyal sister. Ms. Purser is lucky to have such a large and loving extended family. Interesting, the boarding schools were unable to snuff out the Native Americans capacity for compassion and love. The broader society has much to learn from our first nations society. Peace.

• Man, are your kind twisted or what? What makes you think this was merely a political stunt? This is about my sister seeing an area of injustice and doing her best to change it. There is no way our tribal sovereignty is threatened anymore than it was when we allowed for inter-racial marriage to take place between tribal members and their spouses. We are not forcing religious institutions residing on our reservation to go against their beliefs, we are merely offering people like Heather and whomever she might marry  the opportunity to be recognized by the tribal government as a legally bound couple within the boundaries of our reservation. I see nothing here that goes against our agreements with the federal government, remember, we are a sovereign nation and always have been. Anyways, IF a certified religious leader should like to marry them, then great. I know Heather, being the spiritual person she is, would probably prefer that to a cold courtroom. As for your generalization regarding our political views, all I have to say to you is this, how many of us have you ever personally met? Seriously...and  what makes you think you can even begin to understand our motives for recognizing that we are in no position to discriminate against anybody within our own family?

• You obviously are very, very ignorant about how tribes generate income. I suggest you take a few minutes to research treaty rights, tribal trust funds, Suquamish Tribe philanthropy, tribal gaming and tribal sovereignty. If anything, the relationship between sovereign nations and other political parties is this; some political parties are more likely to advocate for tribes in regards to the recognition of treaty rights. If it were not for the Suquamish tribe, the North Kitsap school district would be feeling the sting of all the government budget cuts more than they currently are; the tribe is buffering the blow in several ways. Not to mention all the smaller grants that go out to needy families during the holidays or winter time, or the non-native families that benefit from having their children attend our educational facilities..or how about all the non-native people we employ? I could go on and on. I challenge you to show me ONE example, ONE of how taxpayer money that would exceed the amount the tribe pays as individual tax payers or collectively through the extreme taxation of our enterprise is reinvested in the Suquamish Community in a way that is unnecessary or different than how any other community in the state might use it. Just one, please.Anywaysr, on a tribal member to tribal member basis, our political viewpoints are diverse, we do not function in all interests as a homogenous group. We are dual citizens of our tribe and the U.S. government, we share common ancestry but are not clones of each other. The difference between us and, ehem, less rooted and educated people such as yourself, is that we have been functioning as a family, cohesively, for at least 11,000 years. We have moved beyond making big deals out of petty disagreements and instead are accepting and supportive of one another.

• Gays and lesbians have been getting married since the 1970s. This is not about marriage, but about benefits and legal rights. Tribes do not have to defy federal law to extend benefits and confer rights to the non-member partner of a tribal member in a same-sex couple. That can be done under the principle of “close socio-economic ties.” So this is nothing more than a political gesture on a mainstream political issue that does nothing to benefit tribes but, by defying federal law, invites a federal lawsuit that could potentially erode the sovereignty of all tribes. Two tribes have started down this path of defying federal law on mainstream political issues, and more are sure to follow, but the vast majority of American Indians are conservative democrats, who are more likely to make culturally conservative gestures. Conservative, liberal or progressive, tribes invite a host of trouble by defying the federal government over mainstream political issues.

• So, Ed Murray is a lying sack of dog shit.  He's been repeating for years that "these things don't happen overnight" and that "you don't go from 0 to 60 overnight".  Apparently, you can, if you want to.  The Democrats don't want to.  They rather keep queers unequal and clingy than equal and independent.

• The Democratic Party appreciates the assistance of the Suquamish Tribe.  You will be rewarded with taxpayer money.

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