On occasion, I miss a few headlines. On occasion I also intentionally ignore a few headlines, but that’s neither here nor there. While attempting to learn more about the American Indian LGBTQI Community, I stumbled upon several headlines that I do not recall seeing previously. These were headlines seemingly gone unnoticed. Yet, there were so many major decisions and moments that had been overlooked and the lack of attention to such was astonishing.
The first headline I found? “Two Largest Native American Tribes in U.S. Ban Gay Marriage.” Had I heard anything about this? No. Did I have an idea it probably had happened at some point? Yes. Did I immediately wonder how the mainstream media had made certain that I knew everything about Kim Davis’ personal issue with same-sex marriage but had yet to provide insight on the fact that “the Navajo and the Cherokee… reaffirmed or strengthened their decades-old tribal laws banning gay marriage in recent years”? Of course! From what I recall, the LGBTQI equal rights organizations and activists were quick to boldly announce their issues with any state, country, politician, or business that expressed disdain for homosexuality, but when (at least) two tribes with combined memberships of over 500,000 take on same-sex marriage, all I hear is crickets. How typical is that? The LGBTQI Community appears to be a smaller, more rainbow appreciative version of the greater American society. The chasm that exists between Women of Color and the communities/nations they identify with seems to get larger with each passing day.
Here’s another headline that I found: the announcement of Susan Allen as “the first Native American woman elected to [the] Minnesota legislature” in 2012. Why is this of particular interest? Because Representative Susan Allen is “only the second out lesbian legislator in Minnesota history[.]”So, here is a Native American woman who identifies as a lesbian and is working to improve her state by serving as a lawmaker, yet we have yet to roll out the rainbow patterned carpet for her? The LGBTQI Community has yet to ensure that Susan Allen has the same notoriety as say, Tammy Baldwin (the White, lesbian from Wisconsin who was elected to the Senate). Baldwin’s history-making moment was celebrated loudly and by many, but Susan Allen? I was unaware she even existed until earlier this morning.
According to Allen’s website:
Susan is Lakota, Dakota and Anishinabe. She is an experienced tax and tribal law attorney. She is public spirited and community minded as seen by her considerable nonprofit and pro bono work. As a Native woman and a lesbian, Susan has faced barriers and overcome discrimination throughout her life. She is ready to be a strong voice at the State Legislature. (Emphasis added.)
My first thought after reading about Representative Allen? Isn’t that the age-old American custom? It is always up to those who feel unheard to find stronger voices. It is never up to those in power to be better listeners. This thought was quickly followed by my realization that there had been two lesbian candidates elected for different (but both important) political offices in the same year and yet, only the White candidate was loudly and boldly celebrated. What bothered me even more was Baldwin’s statement on her victory. She said:
Having a seat at the table matters and I think we will see a Senate that is more reflective of America. We’re certainly not there yet, but this will be a change that moves us forward… People … see our country and our states moving toward full equality in many respects… When you have legislative bodies that look more like America, that happens.
Of course this begs the question: What does Congresswoman Baldwin’s America look like exactly? It must look nothing like my America, but very much so like the version of America that the mainstream media consistently tries to convince me of.
As between the two candidates, the more important quote – to me – was one from Representative Susan Allen, who said, ““[a]s a Native woman and lesbian I know what it’s like to be left out, to not have a voice.” Now, that? That sounds like the America that I know and (in some odd way) love. I will refrain from assuming that Representative Allen’s statement is solely directed at the LGBTQI Community, but – if it was – she would not exactly be wrong. It seems there is a trend for silencing women, silencing People of Color, and silencing those who do not fit the stereotypical norms of the LGBTQI Community. I can image that Representative Allen would feel left out. I could imagine that she would also feel voiceless. I think that is a common feeling among most Women of Color, especially those affiliated with the LGBTQI Community. I am sure that the failure of the LGBTQI and American Indian Communities to ensure that the nation knows Susan Allen’s name contributes to her feelings as well. The LGBTQI Community quickly comes to the aid of so many candidates, but where was their national support for Allen? I doubt there was any national support for her because, had there been, it would be unnecessary to list her among the eight LGBT Native Americans that people should know, right?
Yet another headline was the 2013 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (“VAWA”). Now this was a headline that I was quite familiar with; however, after reading about the Navajo’s and Cherokee’s reiteration of their ban on same-sex marriage, I cannot celebrate VAWA in the way that I once did. Specifically, with regards to American Indian women, VAWA provides that:
Tribes are able to exercise their sovereign power to investigate, prosecute, convict, and sentence both Indians and non-Indians who assault Indian spouses or dating partners or violate a protection order in Indian country. VAWA 2013 also clarifies tribes’ sovereign power to issue and enforce civil protection orders against Indians and non-Indians.
So, why has the LGBTQI Community not rallied around or started discussing the fact that the tribes who do not recognize same-sex relationships could possibly “opt out” of offering protection to Native Women in such relationships? In my mind, if a tribe can decide that same-sex marriage is not recognized, then that tribe is likely not required to protect those tribal members who are victimized by their same-sex partners (or punish those partners who victimized them), at least not to the degree required by VAWA or to the same extent as recognizing the violence as having occurred between romantic partners. Is the LGBTQI Community guilty of ignoring some issues under the auspices of tribal sovereignty? Does tribal affiliation negate the fact that Native Women who identify as LGBTQI need our support and efforts as well?
While we are on the subject of support for LGBTQI Native Women and, in light of it being Domestic Violence Awareness Month, I also have to wonder about the very few headlines detailing or analyzing the violence perpetrated against or experienced by American Indian Women in same-sex relationships. The lack of statistics does not convince me that the issue does not exist or that this epidemic has somehow skipped over Native Women as a whole. Rather, I think the lack of information is cause for more concern.
The Native American population has been failed in multiple ways for centuries. It is my hope that the LGBTQI Community would not continue to further this failure by refusing to listen to the voices of those women who, unlike Tammy Baldwin, have not been offered a seat at the table.