Mousseau said she was happy to see the Oglala Sioux approve of same-sex marriage through a sovereign process, even if meant waiting longer.

"I am very proud of our sovereignty," she said. "I embrace that. I enjoy going through what we're going through right now. It's a great victory on all Native Americans."

She compared the process and her and De Leon's involvement to "I'm Just a Bill," the Schoolhouse Rock song that explains how laws are created. "That's me, coming along with marriage equality with my tribe."

Mousseau said she and De Leon met with Scott James, the Oglala Sioux's attorney general, in May. James said he told the couple that the tribe has no hate crime laws and that laws from 1937 prevent same-sex marriage since they reference only men and women, or a husband and wife, getting married.

After speaking with James, Mousseau said, she and De Leon went to the Law and Order Committee, where its members placed the ordinance on the agenda and the couple testified in favor of it. The committee passed it in June before it was ultimately approved by the full council.