Among the Navajos, a Renewed Debate About Gay Marriage

Alray Nelson is an outspoken opponent of the tribal law that bans same-sex marriage.

TOHATCHI, N.M. — Tradition reigns here on the Navajo reservation, where the words of elders are treated as gospel and many people still live or pray in circular dwellings called hogans.

The national debate over gay marriage, however, is prompting some Navajos to re-examine a 2005 tribal law called the Dine Marriage Act, which prohibits same-sex unions on the reservation. Among the tribal politicians who have said they are amenable to repealing the law is Ben Shelly, president of the Navajo Nation, who has said he will go along with a repeal if the Navajo Nation Council votes in favor of it.

And at least one Navajo presidential aspirant — Joe Shirley Jr., a former president who is running again — favors legalizing same-sex marriage. “Our culture dictates acceptance,” Mr. Shirley, 67, said of gay Navajos in a slow, grandfatherly tone during an interview. “They are part of our family, they are our children, and we don’t need to be partial.”

A second presidential contender, Chris Deschene, 43, who was disqualified from running but might be able to get back into the race, said he was “most likely” to support gay marriage.

At a beauty salon in Chinle, Ariz., about 100 miles from Mr. Nelson’s home in Tohatchi, Jaye BTode, 55, dipped a client’s long tresses into the wash basin as she considered the issue. A photo of a Navajo supermodel hung by the door; music played softly in the background.

“That’s not for us,” Ms. BTode said of gay marriage. “No, no, no, no.”

Her client, Julie Begaye, 54, lifted her head out of the sink, shaking her wet locks. “That’s not our tradition,” she said. “If you want to do that, get off the reservation and do that somewhere else.”

A version of this article appears in print on February 22, 2015, on page A14 of the New York edition with the headline: Among the Navajos, a Renewed Debate About Gay Marriage. Order Reprints| Today’s Paper|Subscribe

Go to Home Page »

The New York Times