QUESTION
Whether a tribal marriage performed by United Cherokee Nation-Aniyvwiya meets the
requirements in Program Operations Manual System GN 00305.090 as a valid Indian tribal marriage.
SHORT ANSWER
Based on the information provided and developed in our review, we conclude that the
purported tribal marriage in this case does not satisfy the criteria of POMS GN 00305.090.
BACKGROUND
On June XX, 2020, C~ (Claimant) filed an application for Widow’s Insurance Benefits
(WIB) on the account of W~ (NH). In a letter dated January X, 2021, Claimant indicated
that she also wanted to apply for the Lump Sum Death Payment (LSDP) on NH account.
Claimant stated that NH was not previously married, and that she and NH were married
on January XX, 2011, in Georgia. She indicated that the marriage ended by death on
February X, 2019. Claimant stated that she was previously married to S~ from 1980
until 1991, when the marriage ended by divorce. Claimant continued to use her ex-husband’s
last name A~, even after her purported marriage to NH.
NH’s Georgia Death Certificate indicates that he died on February x, 2019. He had
been living in Roswell, Georgia at the time of his death at the same address listed
by Claimant as her home. The death certificate listed Claimant, the informant on the
certificate, as his spouse. However, NH completed a Retirement Insurance Benefits
(RIB) application on January X, 2016, which indicated he had never married nor had
any previous marriages that lasted 10 years or more or ended in death.
By letter dated October XX, 2020, the Social Security Administration (SSA or agency)
denied Claimant’s application for widow’s benefits. The agency denied Claimant’s WIB
application because she failed to meet any one of three conditions required to show
she was NH’s widow: 1) she and NH were married under the laws of Georgia, where NH
lived when he died; or, 2) the couple had gone through a ceremony which Claimant thought
resulted in a legal marriage with NH and she was still living with him when he died;
or 3) Claimant had the same rights as a spouse to inherit from NH under the laws of
Georgia.
On April X, 2021, the Star Council and Elders of the United Cherokee Nation-Aniyvwiya
wrote a letter to SSA on Claimant’s behalf. The letter indicated that on January XX,
2011, Claimant and NH, both members in good standing with the United Cherokee Nation-Aniyvwiya
(at that time known as the United Cherokee Republic), appeared before the Chief Elder
of the Tribe and were duly married in the eyes of the United Cherokee. The letter
included a marriage certificate, signed by the First Elder and Chief Judge of the
United Cherokee Republic, dated January XX, 2011. The marriage certificate indicates
that both parties, Claimant and NH, appeared and expressed their desire for “unity
of mind, body and soul” and that they are “man and wife in the eyes of the United
Cherokee Nation.”
However, the letter appears to concede that the United Cherokee Nation-Aniyvwiya is
not a recognized Indian tribe by the State of Georgia. The letter states, “This also
negates any position that the state may take concerning their recognition of the United
Cherokee Nation-Aniyvwiya. Neither their recognition nor their non-recognition of
the Tribe was put forward as a requirement for acceptance of Ms. A~ claim.” The letterhead
indicated that the tribe has a physical address in Springfield, Missouri, and a post
office box in Atlanta, Georgia.
In 2005, D~ created the United Cherokee Nation-Aniyvwiya to “provide a different approach
to Native government.” See United Cherokee Nation-Aniyvwiya,(last visited August 2,
2021). The website explains that this “different approach” was chosen because “conventional
interpretations of the relationship between the United States government and the Cherokee
at large are completely unsatisfactory” and “facilitating a change requires moving
into non-traditional arenas in order to effect a new interpretation.” Id. Nothing
on the United Cherokee Nation-Aniyvwiya website indicates that it is a federally recognized
Indian tribe or that it is recognized by any State.
The United Cherokee Nation-Aniyvwiya website’s business directory includes a link
to NH’s photography business web page. (last visited August 2, 2021). An obituary
for NH on the business’s website, written by Claimant, indicates that NH was a member
of the United Cherokee Nation-Aniyvwiya, and that he contributed to the tribe with
his skills in photography, including creating the tribal emblem for the group. See
J~F~ Photography, (last visited August 2, 2021). In the obituary, Claimant described
herself as NH’s wife. Id.
According to the United States Department of the Interior, Indian Affairs, the United
Cherokee Nation-Aniyvwiya is not listed as a federally recognized Indian tribe. U.S.
Dept. Interior, Indian Affairs, Tribal Directory, https://www.bia.gov/bia/ois/tribal-leaders-directory/ (last visited August 2, 2021). Additionally, the United Cherokee Nation-Aniyvwiya
is not an Indian tribe recognized by the State of Georgia. Ga. Code. Ann. § 44-12-300
(West 2021).
DISCUSSION
A claimant may be eligible for WIB and/or an LSDP if the claimant is the widow of
an individual who died a fully or currently insured individual. See Act §§ 202(f)(1),
202(i); 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.335(a), 404.390, 404.391 (2021). A claimant may qualify as
the widow of an insured individual if the courts of the state in which the insured
individual was domiciled at the time of death would find the claimant and insured
individual were validly married when the insured individual died. See Act § 216(h)(1)(A)(i);
20 C.F.R. § 404.345; Program Operations Manual System (POMS) GN 00305.001A.2.a.
NH’s death certificate indicates he was a resident of Georgia when he died. However,
Claimant’s claim as NH’s widow is based upon a purported 2011 Indian tribal marriage.
The POMS recognize such marriages as valid under the State law if: 1) there was a
tribal government to which the parties were subject at the time of the marriage; 2)
the parties at the time of the marriage had been following the tribal customs and
laws; and 3) the marriage was in accordance with the tribal customs and laws. POMS
GN 00305.090.
Claimant’s purported tribal marriage would not be considered valid under Georgia law
as set out in the POMS. POMS GN 00305.090. Specifically, the State of Georgia only officially recognizes three American Indian
tribes: (1) the Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee; (2) the Lower Muscogee Creek Tribe;
and the Cherokee of Georgia Tribal Council. Ga. Code. Ann. § 44-12-300 (West 2021).
Indeed, the letter submitted by Claimant from the United Cherokee Nation-Aniyvwiya
implicitly concedes that they are not a recognized American Indian tribe. See also
U.S. Dept. Interior, Indian Affairs, Tribal Directory, https://www.bia.gov/bia/ois/tribal-leaders-directory/ (last visited August 2, 2021).[1] Because the United Cherokee Nation-Aniyvwiya is not recognized as a legitimate Indian
tribe by the State of Georgia or as a federally recognized tribe, Claimant cannot
establish that “there was a tribal government to which the parties were subject at
the time of the marriage” that would satisfy Georgia law. See POMS GN 00305.090. Therefore, the facts presented do not meet the criteria for a valid Indian tribal
marriage under POMS GN 00305.090.[2]
CONCLUSION
The purported tribal marriage in this case does not satisfy the criteria of POMS GN 00305.090.