Скачать или смотреть Governor clashes with attorney general over tribal hunting dispute

TULSA, OKLA. (KTUL) — A legal dispute within Oklahoma’s executive branch is raising questions about who has authority over state law enforcement.

This week, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond issued a ruling stating that prosecutions of tribal citizens for hunting and fishing on reservation land are unlawful. However, Gov. Kevin Stitt’s office disagrees and is proceeding with a special prosecutor.

The conflict centers on Drummond’s formal legal opinion, which asserts that the state cannot prosecute tribal citizens for hunting and fishing on their own land, deeming continued enforcement unlawful. That decision has left tribal hunters uncertain about their rights, as the governor’s office has appointed a special prosecutor to handle such cases.

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. sharply criticized the governor’s actions following the opinion, saying the ruling confirms what legal experts and many Oklahomans have argued for months. Hoskin said treaty rights, grounded in the U.S. Constitution and federal law, protect tribal citizens’ ability to hunt and fish on reservation land and that no state law gives the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation authority to override those rights. He added that while tribes remain concerned about continued enforcement, they appreciate state officials who are focused on upholding the law, including treaty protections.

In response to the attorney general’s ruling, the governor’s office pushed back, criticizing Drummond and saying, “Drummond has spoken like a true politician — willing to ignore the law to get what he wants. He issued an opinion — and it’s just that, an opinion — on an issue that is already being decided in federal court, instead of waiting for the judges to rule, because that’s what his donors wanted.”

Alex Pearle, a law professor at the University of Oklahoma who specializes in Native American law, said the dispute does not prevent the governor from challenging the opinion, but that challenge would have to occur through the courts. “The attorney general has provided the opinion of what the law is,” Pearle said. “The governor is able to challenge that.”

Meanwhile, tribal conservation officials say they are advising hunters that they are still permitted to hunt on tribal land under existing agreements. Despite the ongoing legal debate, court records show no new filings have been made by special prosecutor Russ Cochran since the attorney general’s opinion was issued.

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