Article IX- Marriage
ARTICLE ix: Marriage
Creator intended his people to live in ᏚᏳᎪᏛ du-yu-go-dv [Cherokee word that sometimes is translated as righteousness or harmony] with Creator. We do not allow marriage between any other than one woman and one man. We do not allow a person to marry either a member of their mother's clan nor of their father's clan.
Creator intended that families be organized for the purpose of preserving and protecting members of the family and whenever possible, to procreate. Marriage is a revered institution and is to be honored.
Therefore we declare that marriage is only to be entered into and recognized when between one man and one woman. We do not endorse or recognize polygamy, bigamy, or same sex unions even though polygamy was introduced to our people by the German Chris Gottlieb Priber in the late 1600’s an promoted by him until his death in 1744, and although polygamy was encouraged among his followers, our native Cherokee leaders taught that that practice weakened our people and brought diseases and plagues among us therefore we reject the introduction of his philosophy into our traditional belief system and we reject all followers of his teachings in this matter and we also reject similar teachings to his.
Therefore, although sexual orientation is not an issue for determining membership within the tribe, we retain the authority of what types of unions to officiate and to recognize and we reserve the right to not recognize any union that our constitution does not deem as valid.
The recognition of marriage in the Constitutional Cherokee shall be only to recognize unions that consist only of the union of a man and a woman, only unions of non related persons as defined by our clan laws, and only unions of one man and one woman. We do not recognize bigamous nor polygamous unions. Neither this Constitution or the constitution of any State, nor state or federal law, nor the law of any foreign power shall be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups.
Neither the National Council nor the National Assembly nor any of its political subdivisions shall create or recognize a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals that intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance or effect of marriage beyond that of the union of one man and one woman to each other.
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