In re Validation of Marriage of Whitehorse

Opinion delivered by

FERGUSON, Associate Justice.

This dispute involves a contested validation of a traditional Navajo marriage of the Appellant, Eva Whitehorse (Whitehorse) to Chester Bekis (Bekis) who is deceased. We hold that the Petitioner/Appellant, Whitehorse, alleging she is the wife of the decedent is bound by the decisions in two different Navajo Family Courts denying her petitions for validation. While the Kayenta District Court *296initially granted the petition to validate the marriage based upon a peacemaking determination in Kayenta, a similar case was already pending in the Shiprock…