Oklahoma Supreme Court sides with Drummond in tribal hunting, fishing dispute

OKLAHOMA CITY (March 24, 2026) – Attorney General Gentner Drummond's legal opinion protecting tribal members' right to hunt and fish on their reservations survived a challenge at the Oklahoma Supreme Court, after the justices unanimously rejected Gov. Kevin Stitt's attempt to strike it down. 

The governor and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) had asked the state's highest court to step in and strike down AG Opinion 2025-19. Yesterday, every justice on the Court ruled to refuse that request, which leaves Drummond’s opinion in effect. The opinion declares that federal law prevents Oklahoma from arresting and prosecuting tribal members for hunting and fishing on their own native lands.  

“This ruling is another rejection of Gov. Stitt's unlawful campaign against tribal citizens exercising their long-held rights,” said Drummond. “The Court would not be used as a tool to override settled federal law and decades of cooperative wildlife management. My position has never wavered: federal law is clear, and it is my duty to uphold it.” 

Drummond issued the formal opinion in December after concluding that the state's enforcement actions were unlawful, wasteful and harmful to Oklahoma's relationships with tribal nations. The Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Choctaw Nations, whose members had been targeted under the state's enforcement policy, have their own detailed wildlife codes that mirror the same conservation goals Oklahoma pursues. 

The dispute will ultimately be resolved by the federal court, where a lawsuit filed by those three tribal nations is ongoing. 

“It is time for Gov. Stitt and the ODWC to stand down, respect federal law and return to the collaborative partnership with tribal nations that has served Oklahoma's conservation interests for decades,” said Drummond.