Oklahoma AG says governor directive on tribal hunting rights violates federal law

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said in a Dec. 18 legal opinion that a recent directive by Gov. Kevin Stitt instructing law enforcement to arrest and charge Native Americans for exercising hunting and fishing rights is unlawful, according to KSWO. Drummond said federal law prohibits the state from prosecuting tribal members who hunt and fish on their own reservations.

In the legal opinion, Drummond cited federal law and a U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that state wildlife laws cannot be enforced where tribes have established comprehensive wildlife management programs. He called the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation’s enforcement policy unlawful, wasteful and harmful to the state’s relationship with tribal nations. The opinion states that tribal citizens should not be deprived of long-held rights while litigation proceeds. The legal opinion is binding unless overturned by a court, according to the attorney general’s office.