Oklahoma attorney general says he'll issue 'guidance' on tribal tag enforcement

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said his office would release new guidance soon about how the Oklahoma Highway Patrol should police vehicles displaying tribal nation tags.

Drummond's statement comes on the heels of a request for assistance from the Absentee Shawnee Tribe. Tribal leaders first asked the attorney general to issue a moratorium on tickets over tribal tags Nov. 10. Drummond made the statement Wednesday to a Tulsa television station.

The tribe's request followed reports that an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper wrote an Otoe-Missouria tribal member a $249 ticket because her vehicle had a tribal tag and wasn’t garaged within the boundaries of the tribe’s jurisdictional area.

Leaders of other tribal nations have since joined the call for Drummond to wade into the dispute. Drummond has often opposed Gov. Kevin Stitt on issues involving tribal nations. He has met frequently with tribal leaders during his first year in office, an approach that has differed from the governor's.

Though Drummond has been mostly tight-lipped about the issue, his spokesman, Phil Bacharach, said the AG believed a compact between tribes and the state would be the best way to solve the problem. “The Attorney General’s highest priority is public safety, and he believes the compacting process is the ideal avenue to address these concerns," Bacharach said in an emailed statement to The Oklahoman.

Most tribal nations either provide or are able to provide the state data on tribal tags, Oklahoman investigation finds

This summer, Stitt and Public Safety Commissioner Tim Tipton both complained the state doesn't have access to tribal vehicle data. However, an investigation by The Oklahoman showed that at least 26 of the 33 tribes that issue car tags either provide data or have access to provide data to the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (OLETS).

Sarah Stewart, a spokesperson for the Department of Public Safety, said the Absentee Shawnee, Caddo, Cherokee, Citizen Potawatomi, Delaware Nation, Eastern Shawnee, Iowa, Kaw, Kickapoo, Miami, Muscogee, Osage, Ottawa, Pawnee, Peoria, Ponca, Quapaw, Sac and Fox, Seminole, Seneca-Cayuga, Shawnee, Tonkawa, United Keetoowah Band and Wyandotte nations all had access to the OLETS system.

More: Most tribes provide vehicle and license plate data to Oklahoma despite Gov. Stitt's claim

She said each tribe was responsible for producing a file containing its vehicle registration records and uploading that file to be processed by the state system. “The state of Oklahoma cannot confirm the accuracy or timeliness of the vehicle registration information reported by these tribes to OLETS,” Stewart wrote in an email to The Oklahoman.

Stewart said a 1993 Supreme Court ruling allows tribal nations to issue tags only to citizens who reside and “principally garage” their vehicles on the reservation of the tribe that issued the tag. However, in the 20 years since that ruling, no effort has been apparent until recently to ticket those in violation of the law. Rep. Mark McBride, R-Moore, a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, told The Oklahoman in an interview his truck carries a Citizen Potawatomi tag. McBride's truck is garaged at his home in Moore, which is outside of the boundaries of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. "My whole family has tribal tags," he said.

At least two Oklahoma drivers have been ticketed over tribal tags

The Oklahoman has confirmed at least two drivers whose cars displayed tribal tags have received $249 citations for "failure to pay taxes due the state." Those citations were issued in Garfield County.

Drummond told Fox 23, the Tulsa television station, that Stitt ordered the new enforcement effort. "It's just been one of those well-known but not acted on issues in the state of Oklahoma for the past 25 years," Drummond said. "I think in this instance the governor doesn't pass up an instance to be acrimonious with the tribes."

More: Tribal nations, lawmakers have questions over 'out of the blue' ticketing for tribal tag

The fight continues to draw the attention of state lawmakers. On Thursday, House Minority Leader, Cindy Munson, D-Oklahoma City, said Democrats had heard from their constituents and other Oklahomans about the issue.

"We want to be clear: we continue to be in support of tribes, and acknowledge and respect their tribal sovereignty," Munson said in a media statement. "This is another attempt by the governor to undermine our tribal leaders and nations as he continues to demonstrate his inability to work with them. If he has valid concerns, he should lead by having discussions with tribal leaders instead of creating unnecessary chaos that is harmful and unproductive. "

Abegail Cave, a spokeswoman for Stitt, said in response to Drummond's comments that she was unaware of any directive from the governor's office regarding tribal tags. Stewart, the state Department of Public Safety spokesman, said the governor did not issue any directive on tags.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma attorney general will weigh in on tribal tag controversy