Brady Metcalf says he isn’t opposed to same-sex marriage, but the way it was approved.

The Coquille tribal council approved allowing two people, where at least one is a member of the tribe, to marry regardless of gender and to recognize same-sex marriage or civil unions performed in areas where they are legal.

Metcalf says the issue should have been put to a vote of all adults in the tribe – about 580 people.

Although he does not currently live on tribal land, Metcalf is mounting a campaign to force a vote. He needs about 200 signatures to do that.

Chief Ken Tanner says that under the Federal Indian Act, the band is not bound by Oregon’s 2004 constitutional amendment limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples.  But some legal analysts say that the tribe is likely bound by the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal government recognition of gay marriage.

A lesbian couple already is planning a tribal wedding next May.

Jeni and Kitzen Branting will be married at the tribe’s plankhouse – a common gathering place for the Coquilles. They said that they are inviting between 100 and 150 people.

Kitzen Branting is a member of the tribe, while Jeni Branting is not. The women say they don’t care if their marriage is not recognized beyond the tribal border.

It is generally believed that the Coquilles are the first Native American tribe to legalize same-sex marriage.

In May 2004, a lesbian couple in Oklahoma applied for and were issued a marriage certificate by the Cherokee Nation.  The couple wed shortly after that. The following year members of the tribal council went to court to fight challenge the legality of the marriage. In 2006, the Judicial Appeals Tribunal of the Cherokee Nation, the highest Cherokee court upheld the marriage, but the couple had never registered their marriage.

The Coquille Indian Tribe, located on the southern Oregon coast, says that under the federal Indian act it is not bound by Oregon’s 2004 constitutional amendment limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples. But some legal analysts say that the tribe is likely bound by the federal Defense of Marriage Act which denies federal government recognition of gay marriage.

That is not deterring the Coquilles.

Chief Ken Tanner tells The Oregonian newspaper that Native Americans are “sensitive to discrimination of any kind.”

“For our tribe, we want people to walk in the shoes of other people and learn to respect differences. Through that, we think we build a stronger community,” he said.

A lesbian couple already is planning a tribal wedding next May.

Jeni and Kitzen Branting will be married at the tribe’s plankhouse – a common gathering place for the Coquilles. They said that they are inviting between 100 and 150 people.

Kitzen Branting is a member of the tribe, while Jeni Branting is not.

The women say they don’t care if their marriage is not recognized much beyond the tribal border.

“For me, the important thing wasn’t about rights or the benefits,” Kitzen Branting told The Register-Guard newspaper.

“I just wanted the tribe to say ‘Yes, we recognize that you are just as important as any other tribe member, and we will treat you and your spouse as we treat all tribal members.’”

It is generally believed that the Coquilles are the first Native American tribe to legalize same-sex marriage.

In May 2004, a lesbian couple in Oklahoma applied for and was issued a marriage certificate by the Cherokee Nation. The couple wed shortly after that. The following year members of the tribal council went to court to fight challenge the legality of the marriage and in 2006 the Judicial Appeals Tribunal of the Cherokee Nation, the highest Cherokee court upheld the marriage, but the couple never registered their marriage.