Anybody got a short explanation of Indian Tribal lands in Oklahoma?

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
Dec 9, 2008
Messages
87,561
Reaction score
69,696
Location
Ponca City Ok
If it's private property, it's private property.

The whole "reservation" language has been used recently in regards to the child molester McGirt decision regarding tribal jurisdiction.

The only consideration is if it's not private land and is managed by the BIA. (much of Payne and Pawnee areas are like this) If that were the case, one needs to find out the owners, get written permission, and an applicable hunting license from the tribe.
In Osage County, private property is only the top 12” of soil. The Supreme Court recently affirmed this.
The tribe owns the minerals both above and below the surface. Hence the decision to remove the giant wind farm between Ponca City and Pawhuska.
The courts agreed that the company installing the wind farm didn’t get permits to mine minerals.
Will it be removed? I doubt it. The tribe will negotiate a portion of the revenue first.
Currently, hunting and fishing regs fall under ODW in Osage County.
That being said, the Osage tribe has THEIR hunting and fishing regulations drawn up and online if anyone wants to search, that mimic the ODW regulations with bias to tribal members.
They have not been implemented at this time. The OP, must take due diligence upon themselves to research the county they wish to hunt/fish in to assure they are confident in the county regulations that may be applicable to that county, WMA, or whatever vs rely on internet intel that may be true….except for that one little thing.
Contact the county GW and area biologist.
If the OP really wants to know the legalities, go here. This is the LAW as written in the legislation.
It’s the gospel.

https://wildlifedepartment.com/doclink/800-10-15.pdf

One can get the short story in the title 29.
https://oksenate.gov/sites/default/files/2019-12/os29.pdf

The literature one gets off the counter at the sporting goods store is for reference only and does not carry weight of law. The documents have contained many mistakes in the past.
I scour the regs annually and brought out the mistakes more than once to a friend that is a GW.
Don’t throw that flyer in the face of a GW and claim innocence.
Title 800 is the law.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Apr 15, 2020
Messages
356
Reaction score
467
Location
Mustang
I hunt on private property in Garvin County which appears to be entirely in the Chickasaw Nation boundaries. I have never, to my knowledge, seen any Indian officials/police anywhere in Pauls Valley, Wynnewood, etc. What is the impact or significance of the Indian Nation boundaries on Non-Indian me? Is a reservation something different?
It only affects you if you’re involved with the tribe or with a tribal member. The state has jurisdiction over non-Indians on Indian Territory unless you commit a crime against the tribe or a tribal member. Reservations don’t exist in Oklahoma they were lost with the creation of the state. However because of language in some of those treaties the 5 tribes keep their sovereignty over their territories and members. Reservations are completely governed by the tribe with oversight from the BIA and the states have no jurisdiction there.
 
Joined
Feb 11, 2008
Messages
679
Reaction score
982
Location
Oklahoma City
It only affects you if you’re involved with the tribe or with a tribal member. The state has jurisdiction over non-Indians on Indian Territory unless you commit a crime against the tribe or a tribal member. Reservations don’t exist in Oklahoma they were lost with the creation of the state. However because of language in some of those treaties the 5 tribes keep their sovereignty over their territories and members. Reservations are completely governed by the tribe with oversight from the BIA and the states have no jurisdiction there.
I'm still confused.
 

SoonerP226

Sharpshooter
Special Hen
Joined
Jan 1, 2013
Messages
14,494
Reaction score
16,074
Location
Norman
I'm still confused.
There are no reservations, per se, in Oklahoma because the reservations were all broken up and the land was given out as allotments to the tribal members, many, if not most, of whom ended up being swindled out of it. That was not one of the finer hours in our state’s (or nation’s) history, but it is what it is. (Oklahoma native Angie Debo wrote extensively on the subject, and she had to go out of state to get her books published.)

The reservations were broken up insofar as the lands were divided into private parcels and no longer owned by the tribes, but that did nothing to extinguish the jurisdictional boundaries of the tribal governments, which is what led us to the McGirt decision. And that is a whole ‘nother level of squirrelly.
 
Joined
Jan 28, 2008
Messages
21,952
Reaction score
10,297
Location
Tornado Alley
It's true that Oklahoma doesn't have reservations like New Mexico, Montana, etc. Tribal lands in Oklahoma are held in trust by the BIA for the benefit of the tribes. How much federal oversight depends on the tribe. Some tribes pretty much manage all of their affairs, while others don't have the courts, LE agencies or administration to do so, so the feds do it for them.

The tribe should have a map showing where their trust lands are on their website, but like everything else the detail may be better with some tribes than others. My ex's tribe had all theirs on their website and you could find out exactly what land was the tribes really easy. Others...Not so much.

ETA: This post applies to civil things. Criminal is a whole 'nuther matter thanks to McGirt.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom