COMBATTING HETEROPATRIARCHAL AND HETERONORMATIVE INFLUENCES IN INDIGENOUS GOVERNANCE

Abstract

In 2004 and 2005, elected officials of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and the Navajo Nation Council passed laws to prohibit same-sex marriage. These laws reflect concerns from Indigenous feminist and queer scholars that heteropatriarchal and heteronormative ideas have distorted some Indigenous communities’ understandings of sovereignty, tradition, and self-governance. This article draws on Indigenous feminist legal theory (“IFLT”) and queer Indigenous studies (“QIS”) to argue that Indigenous communities must challenge and resist internalized heteropatriarchal and heteronormative ideologies to avoid perpetuating the settler-colonial agenda. By applying the principles of IFLT and QIS, Indigenous communities can develop responsive, collaborative, and culturally informed self-governance practices to ensure the equitable treatment of gender-marginalized and queer Indigenous peoples within their community.