Oklahoma Attorney General Rebukes Governor Stitt’s Claims on Tribal Hunting Rights

Oklahoma’s Attorney General Gentner Drummond issued a sharp rebuke to Governor Kevin Stitt on Thursday, accusing the governor of spreading misinformation about tribal hunting rights across the state. The statement marks the latest development in an escalating conflict between state officials over tribal sovereignty issues.

Drummond’s comments came in response to recent assertions by Governor Stitt suggesting that the Attorney General believes tribal citizens can hunt on privately owned land without permission. In his statement, Drummond categorically denied this characterization.

“Gov. Stitt has made a habit of spreading misinformation, especially when it comes to the sovereignty of the tribal nations of Oklahoma,” Drummond stated. “He knows full well that the tribes in Oklahoma do not authorize their citizens to enter private property to hunt or fish without the landowner’s consent. Their Tribal Codes prohibit it. Oklahoma law prohibits it. And I have never suggested otherwise.”

The Attorney General’s statement concluded with a pointed critique of the governor’s approach to tribal relations: “The constant lies and corruption must stop. The law has not changed, and neither has my commitment to it. Oklahomans deserve truth and integrity. Enough is enough.”

This public disagreement between Oklahoma’s top officials follows a significant legal development earlier this week when three of the state’s largest tribal nations—the Chickasaw Nation, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, and Cherokee Nation—filed a federal lawsuit challenging Governor Stitt’s actions regarding tribal hunting rights on tribal land.

In the wake of that lawsuit, Drummond took a clear position by calling on the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation to cease prosecuting tribal members who are hunting on tribal lands. This stance appears to have prompted the governor’s comments that sparked Drummond’s forceful response.

The dispute highlights ongoing tensions over tribal sovereignty in Oklahoma following the landmark 2020 Supreme Court decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma, which recognized that much of eastern Oklahoma remains reservation land for criminal jurisdiction purposes. Since that ruling, questions about regulatory authority, including wildlife management, have become increasingly contentious.

Oklahoma’s tribal nations have consistently maintained that while they assert regulatory authority on tribal lands, they do not claim their citizens have rights to access private property without permission. Tribal codes explicitly prohibit such actions, a point Drummond emphasized in his statement.

The conflict reflects broader challenges in state-tribal relations under Governor Stitt’s administration. Since taking office in 2019, Stitt, himself a Cherokee Nation citizen, has frequently clashed with tribal leaders over issues ranging from gaming compacts to criminal jurisdiction and regulatory authority.

For Oklahoma’s tribal nations, which collectively represent hundreds of thousands of citizens and form a significant economic and cultural force in the state, questions of sovereignty and self-governance remain paramount. The three tribes involved in the recent lawsuit collectively represent approximately 500,000 citizens and manage substantial land holdings.

Legal experts suggest this dispute over hunting rights could have implications beyond wildlife management, potentially affecting how various regulatory matters are handled in areas with significant tribal populations. The outcome may further define the practical implementation of tribal sovereignty following the McGirt decision.

As this conflict unfolds, many Oklahoma residents—both tribal and non-tribal—find themselves navigating uncertain regulatory terrain while state and tribal officials work to resolve these jurisdictional questions through both negotiation and litigation.