Tribe members must understand new regulations

Sept. 14 — As the fall hunting season approaches, members of the Five Tribes who fish and hunt will have to get used to new regulations that went into effect in July with the signing of the Five Tribes Wildlife Management Reciprocity Agreement.

The Five Civilized Tribes Inter-Tribal Council announced in July the signing of the Five Tribes Wildlife Management Reciprocity Agreement. The agreement allows for hunting and fishing licenses issued by each tribe to be recognized by other tribes on their respective reservation lands.

Under the agreement, tribal members and citizens of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw of Oklahoma, Muscogee (Creek), and Seminole tribes may use their tribal affiliation to hunt and fish within each party’s reservation boundaries.

The agreement concludes efforts to replace a system that ended in 2021 when Gov. Kevin Stitt declined to renew tribal hunting and fishing agreements with tribal nations.

“We created the Choctaw Nation Wildlife Conservation Department to reaffirm our tribal sovereignty. This department governs how our citizens hunt and fish on our reservation using their tribal affiliation,” Choctaw Nation Chief Gary Batton said in July after the agreement was reached. “We have now taken a significant step forward by partnering with the Inter-Tribal Council. This partnership will provide our tribal members with continued opportunities to hunt and fish on our reservations using their tribal affiliation. Together, we are reaffirming our tribal sovereignty and benefiting our approximately 815,000 tribal citizens, as well as all Oklahomans.”

The Choctaw Nation wants to remind tribal members that the compact is only valid within the Five Tribes. Outside the reservations of the parties to the compact, citizens and members must follow the rules of the controlling jurisdiction—such as another tribe or state governments.

Tribal members will only need their tribal membership to provide documentation to hunt or fish. Additional identification may be requested to verify identity. In addition, completion of a Hunter Safety course is also required by the Choctaw Nation Fish, Game and Animals Code and the State of Oklahoma.

Tribal members may still receive citations for Fish and Game violations under cross-delegation agreements with the State of Oklahoma. If a tribal member receives a citation for not having a valid Oklahoma license, the tribal member is asked to contact the Choctaw Nation Legal Department at 580-380-8149.

Persons fishing and hunting on the Five Tribes will be subject to total and daily bag limits on all reservations during the season, including those in Oklahoma.

All collections must be registered with the citizen’s tribe, regardless of where they were collected. Choctaw tribal members will use the Chahta Achvffa online portal for registration.

Currently, all markers are free within the Five Tribes reservations.

Members of the Choctaw Nation can obtain more information at www.choctawnation.com/services/wildlife-conservation/.