[HISTORY: Adopted by the Tribal Council of the Nottawaseppi
Huron Band of the Potawatomi 3-16-2023 by Res. No. 03-16-23-08. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
The title of this code shall be the "Nottawaseppi Huron Band
of the Potawatomi's (NHBP, Tribe, or Band) Marriage Code." It
may be referred to as the "Marriage Code" or simply the "Code."
The purpose of this code is to establish procedures for marriage
within the Band's jurisdiction and the recognition of marriages
performed outside of the Band's jurisdiction.
If any provision of this code is found to be unconstitutional
or unlawful by a court of competent jurisdiction, such provision(s)
shall be struck, and the remainder of this code shall remain in full
force and effect.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A person who identifies as Native American, as evidenced
by a tribally issued identification or by affidavit of self-identification.
A certified document which proves that a couple is officially
married.
A document issued by the Tribal Court authorizing a couple
to marry.
A form upon which a couple seeking to be married affirm that
each is legally qualified to enter into marriage with the other.
The person designated to perform a marriage ceremony.
Lands owned by the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi;
lands owned by the United States of America in trust for the Nottawaseppi
Huron Band of the Potawatomi; lands within the exterior boundaries
of the Nottawaseppi Huron Band reservation; and Indian country, as
defined in 18 U.S.C. § 1151.
A.
The Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi shall recognize as
valid and binding any marriage between two consenting adults without
regard to gender, conducted in compliance with the laws of the jurisdiction
in which such marriage was formalized.
B.
A common law or traditional marriage entered shall not be recognized
as a valid marriage unless, at the time the common law marriage is
entered into:
C.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, a common law marriage
contracted outside Tribal Land shall not be recognized as valid in
this Tribal jurisdiction.
A.
No persons shall be married by a Judge of the Tribal Court without
a validly issued and effective marriage license.
B.
The Clerk and any Judge of the Tribal Court are authorized and empowered
to issue a marriage license to any couple who desires to join together
in marriage, whether or not they are enrolled members of NHBP, so
long as at least one party to the marriage is an Indian person.
C.
A marriage license shall be issued by the Tribal Court within three
business days of the filing of a marriage license application, signed
by both parties seeking to marry, upon an application form to be prescribed
by the Tribal Court and upon the payment of a license fee in an amount
which shall be set by administrative order of the Court.
D.
The marriage license shall remain effective and valid for a period
of 33 days after the period of issuance. A marriage license is rendered
void if the marriage is not solemnized within this thirty-three-day
period.
A.
All marriage license applications filed with the Tribal Court, and
copies of all marriage licenses and marriage certificates issued by
the Court shall be indexed by date and the names of the parties and
shall be maintained as permanent, public records of the Nottawaseppi
Huron Band of the Potawatomi.
B.
Such records shall be periodically duplicated and a separate, duplicate
set shall be transferred to the Government Records Department to be
placed for safekeeping in the Records Retention Center.
A.
The Tribal Court shall issue a marriage license within three days
of receipt of a completed marriage license application which affirms
that the parties meet the following qualifications:
(1)
A freely consenting person who is 18 years of age or older may contract
marriage. A freely consenting minor who is 16 years of age but is
less than 18 years of age may contract marriage with the written consent
of one of the minor's parents or the minor's legal guardian.
(2)
A person contracting marriage is prohibited from marrying the person's
parent, sibling, half-sibling, grandparent, child, grandchild, sibling's
child, parent's sibling, or cousin of the first degree, except
as permitted by established tribal customs and culture.
(3)
No marriage shall be contracted if either of the parties is currently
married or otherwise in a civil union relationship that provides substantially
the same rights, benefits, and responsibilities as a marriage.
B.
As an additional requirement, the Tribal Court shall not issue a
marriage license unless at least one of the parties to the proposed
marriage is an Indian person.
A.
Except as to marriages permitted by the established customs of aboriginal
cultures, no marriage solemnized pursuant to a marriage license issued
by the Tribal Court shall be valid and recognized, unless performed
by:
(1)
Clergyman duly designated by the governing body of one of the parties'
faith as having the authority to perform marriages;
(2)
The NHBP Tribal Council Chairperson;
(3)
A Tribal Judge of NHBP or of a Court of another federally recognized
Tribe, who is authorized by Tribal law to perform marriages; or
(4)
An Indian medicine man or spiritual leader who is commonly recognized
as such by Indian people and who has been approved as such by the
Court.
B.
A marriage performed pursuant to a tribal marriage license by an
Officiant authorized to solemnize a marriage as herein provided may
be performed at any location within or outside of the reservation.
A.
For the purpose of this chapter, a traditional Indian marriage shall
be defined as one performed by an Indian person, who claims the authority
to solemnize marriage between Indian persons in accordance with commonly
accepted Indian customs and traditions of any recognized Indian Tribe
by virtue of such person's status as a medicine man or Indian
spiritual leader.
B.
It is the express policy of the NHBP to recognize traditional marriages
so performed provided that the Officiant is recognized as a medicine
man or traditional spiritual leader by a significant number of Indian
persons, and provided further, that the Officiant is recognized by
order of the Tribal Court as being a medicine man or traditional spiritual
Indian leader.
C.
Such recognition may come about on the Court's own motion or
upon the motion of any other person, and such order of recognition
shall not be unreasonably withheld. No filing fee shall be required
in a proceeding wherein Tribal Court recognition of a medicine man
or traditional Indian spiritual leader is sought. Such proceedings
may be held on an ex parte basis without notice.
D.
An order denying such recognition shall be appealable in the same
fashion and manner as any other order of the Court.
A.
After the solemnization of a marriage performed pursuant to a marriage
license issued by the Court, two fully executed and conformed copies
of the marriage license executed by two witnesses to the ceremony
and the Officiant shall be returned to the Clerk of the Tribal Court
within 14 days of the ceremony.
B.
The Clerk of the Court shall endorse upon each such conformed copy
its date of receipt and deliver a copy to the Judge of the Court who
authorized the issuance of the marriage license, or his successor.
The Clerk shall return the remaining copy to the parties of the marriage
for their records.
C.
Upon such delivery, the Judge shall, within three business days,
examine the marriage license application and the marriage license
to ensure that the information appearing thereon is properly completed
and that the marriage was performed in accordance with the provisions
of the marriage license.
D.
Upon a determination that the marriage license application and the
marriage license are in proper form, and that there has been compliance
with the terms of the marriage license, the Court shall endorse its
approval upon the marriage license and shall cause a marriage certificate
to be issued by the Court.
E.
A copy of the marriage certificate shall be maintained in the same
file as the related marriage license application and marriage license,
while a certified copy of the marriage certificate shall be returned
to the parties of the marriage.
F.
No charge shall be made for the issuance of the marriage certificate
or the other activities specified in this section.
A.
It shall not be the responsibility of the Court to record or file
the marriage certificate with any state, county, or Tribal government.
B.
Should the parties to any marriage performed under the auspices of
these provisions desire that a marriage certificate be filed or recorded
in another jurisdiction they may obtain such certified copies from
the clerk of the Tribal Court as they may desire at the normal and
customary charge.
NHBP recognizes common law or traditional marriages. In order
to establish a common law or traditional marriage, the couple must
show that they intended to be spouses and consented to the marriage;
they lived together; and they held themselves out to the community
as married for at least ten (10) years. The NHBP Tribal Court may
issue a judgment that validates a common law or traditional marriage.
In the judgment, the Court will ascertain the date of the marriage's
inception. The Court's judgment is sufficient to establish the
validity of a common law or traditional marriage.
