Oklahoma Gov. Stitt won't renew hunting, fishing compacts with Cherokee, Choctaw tribes

Leaders of Oklahoma’s two largest tribes said Monday that they would issue their own hunting licenses to citizens.

The announcement came soon after Gov. Kevin Stitt’s administration notified the Cherokee and Choctaw nations that it would not renew the state’s current hunting and fishing license agreements with the tribes.

The hunting and fishing clash is the latest source of conflict between Stitt and the tribes, whose tensions date back to 2019 when Stitt sought to renegotiate gaming compacts. That tension only escalated after the landmark Supreme Court decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma.

In fact, the reason Stitt cited for not extending the current hunting compacts is one of the same arguments he has repeated to overturn McGirt. “Governor Stitt believes that all Oklahomans should receive equal treatment under the law,” his office said in a statement.

Stitt wanted the Cherokee and Choctaw nations to start paying full price for the 200,000 state hunting and fishing licenses they collectively buy every year. The change would increase the tribes’ payments from $2 per license to $42 or more. Without an extension, the agreements expire Dec. 31.

Cherokee Chief Hoskin: Stitt's proposal a non-starter

Cherokee Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said Stitt’s offer was a non-starter and effectively told his nation “to go pound sand.” Stitt is a Cherokee citizen.

“The state’s proposal isn’t even remotely reasonable,” Hoskin said. “It’s an increase in the fees in the thousands of percentile range.”

Stitt’s office said the governor is acting on behalf of everyone who lives in the state. “Personal attacks on the governor will not deter him from protecting the interests of all 4 million Oklahomans, including the state’s wildlife and natural resources,” his office said in a statement.

Choctaw Chief Gary Batton said Stitt fails to recognize tribes as sovereign governments outside the state’s control. “Because of that he’ll say Oklahoma as a whole is not treated the same,” he said.

Batton said he doesn’t believe Stitt understands the finances of the compacts, which were negotiated in 2015 and 2016 by then-Gov. Mary Fallin to benefit both the state and the tribes. The tribes agreed to buy a collective minimum of 200,000 licenses every year for $2 apiece, plus pay administrative fees. In addition to those payments, the state received more federal grants that are determined in part by license sales. The two tribes’ purchases appear to account for about 18 percent of sales this year.

“The reality is we did not have to pay anything, and that’s the path we’re going down,” Batton said.

OK tribes to issue own hunting licenses?

Batton and Hoskin said they plan to exercise their nations’ treaty rights to allow citizens to hunt according to their own tribal laws, which were recently updated. Before signing the compact with the state in 2015, the Cherokee Nation allowed tribal members to hunt on a tribal trust and restricted lands.

Hoskin said the tribe now will allow citizens to hunt throughout its northeast Oklahoma reservation, which was reaffirmed after the McGirt ruling. The tribal hunting program will start Jan. 1.

“We really look at January 1 as just an opportunity to effectively make a switch from the compact-based jurisdiction to treaty-based jurisdiction through our government,” Hoskin said.

Batton said his southeast Oklahoma tribe will now allow Choctaw citizens to hunt on their own property as well as land owned by the tribe after the state compact expires. He said the tribe hasn’t previously granted those hunting rights.

Instead, it has worked through its compact with the state in recent years to issue licenses to tribal citizens for free. The Choctaw never came close to handing out all the 50,000 licenses it bought from the state every year, he said. The Cherokee bought 150,000 licenses.

The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation is funded by the licenses it sells. It also relies heavily on a federal grant program that is calculated each year based on license sales, as well as state population and land size, said Micah Holmes, a spokesperson for the agency. When license sales drop, it affects the state’s ability to secure as much federal money, he said.

Latest: Supreme Court may decide soon whether to reconsider McGirt

The Cherokee and Chickasaw nations estimated the hunting compacts netted the state at least $38 million in funding.

Holmes said agency officials are still waiting to see what happens in the final weeks before the Cherokee and Chickasaw compacts expire.

The financial impact facing the state is unclear, said Charlie Hannema, a spokesperson for Stitt.

“Without a compact, members of the Cherokee and Choctaw nations will need to purchase their licenses directly from the state as all other Oklahomans do, including members of the other 37 Oklahoma tribes,” he wrote in an email.

Hoskin and Batton said their new hunting programs won’t require citizens to obtain state licenses.

They said they learned about Stitt’s plans not to renew the current hunting compacts in a Nov. 30 letter from Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell.

The letter described the tribes’ $2 license fee as a “steeply discounted rate.” In Oklahoma, a standard combination hunting and fishing license for state residents costs $42. Deer and turkey tags, which must also be purchased by state residents, cost $20 and $10, respectively. Under the compact between the state and the Cherokee Nation, tribal citizens received one universal deer tag (antlered or antlerless) and one turkey tag per calendar year.

“We firmly believe all Oklahomans should receive equal treatment under the law and otherwise,” the letter said.

Hunting compacts latest in long line of issues between state, tribes

Stitt has criticized the McGirt ruling as dividing the criminal justice system on eastern Oklahoma reservation lands. The state no longer has jurisdiction in cases involving Native Americans on the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee, Seminole or Quapaw reservations.

The July 2020 ruling has also raised questions about the state’s civil and taxing powers on those lands, which cover most of eastern Oklahoma.

Stitt agreed in December 2020 to extend the Cherokee and Choctaw hunting compacts for one year.

But since then, he has become an increasingly outspoken critic of the McGirt ruling, drawing criticism from tribal leaders. The state has submitted dozens of filings asking the Supreme Court to reconsider the decision.

Stitt’s decision not to extend the hunting compacts came to light in a joint statement Monday morning issued by Hoskin and Batton, as well as leaders of the Chickasaw, Muscogee and Seminole nations.

“The state’s decision to end the hunting and fishing compacts with the Cherokee and Choctaw nations is disappointing especially in that it only hurts the state of Oklahoma, but the true intent is to demean tribal sovereignty," Muscogee Principal Chief David Hill said.

Molly Young covers Indigenous affairs for the USA Today Network's Sunbelt Region of Colorado, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas. Reach her at mollyyoung@gannett.com or 405-347-3534.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Gov. Kevin Stitt won't renew hunting, fishing compacts with OK tribes