another "American" perspective

Predating the WA Senate debate:

Suquamish Tribe Approves Same-Sex Marriage, August 2011

Scholars noted that before tribes came into contact with Christian missionaries, homosexuality was not necessarily viewed negatively.

“It went from tolerated in some tribes to very highly regarded in others,” said Karina L. Walters, the director of the Indigenous Wellness Research Institute at the University of Washington and a leader of a national study of homosexuality among American Indians.

Dr. Walters noted that, in the past two decades, some gay American Indians have sought to revive the idea that gay tribal members served heightened spiritual roles and could be viewed as transitional figures. The term often used today is “two-spirit people.”

“It wasn’t thought of as homosexual, necessarily, it was thought of as another type of gender,” she said. “The whole idea behind it is tribes never excluded people.”

"We are open and tolerant, and we want to make sure our members are offered the opportunity to be happy and free in their lives," said Leonard Forsman, chairman of the Suquamish Tribe. "This lined up with our values as a tribe. We don't discriminate."

The Tribal Council held a public hearing on the ordinance change in June and formally adopted it in a unanimous vote Monday (8/1/11).