PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – The Coquille Indian Tribe, based on the southern Oregon coast, recently adopted a law recognizing same-sex marriage, and its first such wedding is set for next spring.

Oregon voters amended the state constitution in 2004 to prohibit same-sex marriage. But as a federally recognized sovereign nation, the tribe is not bound by the Oregon Constitution.

Native Americans are “sensitive to discrimination of any kind,” said Ken Tanner, chief of the Coquilles.

“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 told The Oregonian newspaper.

The Coquilles are believed to be the first tribe to legalize same-sex marriage. Three years ago, a lesbian couple in Oklahoma tested a loophole in the Cherokee Nation’s law that defined marriage as between two people enrolled in the tribe. The tribe’s clerk denied the couple’s marriage certificate, prompting a lawsuit, and the Cherokee Supreme Court eventually sided with the couple. But they never submitted the marriage certificate to the county clerk, which would have taken the issue outside the tribe. The tribal council later adopted a law banning same-sex marriage.

Becky Flynn, regional director of Basic Rights Oregon, a gay rights advocacy group, said Aug. 20 the impact of the Coquille law is likely to be minimal beyond the couple and the tribe.

The federal government has the legal right to deny recognition to same-sex marriages under the Federal Defense of Marriage Act passed by Congress in 1996. The tribe concluded that the act may bar the Coquilles from conferring federal benefits or money on same-sex spouses, said Melissa Cribbins, assistant tribal attorney.

The first couple to get married under the new law is expected to be Jeni and Kitzen Branting, whose maiden name is Doyle and who legally adopted Jeni’s last name three years ago. Kitzen is a member of the tribe; Jeni is not.

In an interview with The Register-Guard newspaper, Kitzen Branting, 25, said she doesn’t expect anything beyond tribal rights for her partner.

“For me, the important thing wasn’t about rights or the benefits,” she said. “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.’”

The couple is planning a May wedding at the tribe’s plankhouse, a common gathering place for the Coquilles. They’re inviting between 100 and 150 people.