page_title: Same-sex marriage in tribal nations in the United States
section_title: Nations that prohibit same-sex marriage and do not recognize such marriages from elsewhere
hierarchical_section_title: Same-sex marriage in tribal nations in the United States / Nations that prohibit same-sex marriage and do not recognize such marriages from elsewhere
context_page_description: The Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges that legalized same-sex marriage in the states and most territories did not legalize same-sex marriage on Indian reservations. In the United States, Congress has legal authority over tribal reservations. Thus, unless Congress passes a law regarding same-sex marriage that is applicable to tribal governments, federally recognized American Indian tribes have the legal right to form their own marriage laws. As such, the individual laws of the various United States federally recognized Native American tribes may set limits on same-sex marriage under their jurisdictions.
  Many federally recognized tribal jurisdictions do not have their own courts, relying instead on CFR courts under the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In such cases, same-sex marriage is legal under federal law. Others do have their own courts and legal codes but do not have separate marriage laws or licensing, relying instead on state law. Of those that do have their own legislation, most have no special regulation for marriages between people of the same sex or gender, and many accept as valid marriages performed in other jurisdictions.
caption: Status of same-sex marriage in the United States    Performed and recognized   Recognized when performed elsewhere   Only recognized by the state and federal governments   (mixed jurisdiction; not performed by tribal government)   (mixed jurisdiction; not performed or recognized by tribal government)  vte