AUGUST 2026 | 39 THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL on trust or allotments lands will qualify for state tax exemptions –commerce occurring on, or income earned on, fee lands within Indian reservations would be subject to state tax. Jurisdictional Uncertainty and Economic Impacts. Businesses, including tribally owned enterprises, face uncertainty about tax obligations and potential liabilities. Local governments and tribes will have to work through allocating resources to pay for, provide and administer traditional municipal services such as police, fire, sewer, water, sanitation, animal control, code and building inspections and the like.26 Retroactive Claims and Refunds. The state may confront claims for significant tax refunds for transactions previously taxed in areas now confirmed as Indian country under McGirt. But with the denial of certiorari review, tax refunds will be limited geographically to tribal citizens that live on trust or allotted lands, not fee lands within a reservation. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS: HUNTING AND FISHING REGULATION While Stroble certiorari briefing before the U.S. Supreme Court was in progress during the fall of 2025, Gov. Stitt sought to enforce hunting regulations on Native American citizens within Choctaw reservation lands in eastern Oklahoma. Gov. Stitt relied upon the Stroble and City of Tulsa v. O’Brien rulings to exercise state civil-regulatory hunting and fishing enforcement against Native Americans.27 This triggered litigation between Gov. Stitt and several large tribes, including the Choctaw, Cherokee and Chickasaw Nations, supported by Attorney General Gentner Drummond. In November 2025, the large tribes filed a federal lawsuit against Governor Stitt, his special prosecutor and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife to stop them from enforcing the regulations, which they claimed violated their sovereign treaty rights.28 Meanwhile, Attorney General Drummond subsequently issued Attorney General Opinion 2025-19, which declared Gov. Stitt’s hunting enforcement to be unlawful.29 He declared that federal law preempts and thus prohibits Oklahoma from prosecuting tribal citizens for exercising hunting rights on their own reservations. In response, Gov. Stitt brought an application for an original action in the Oklahoma Supreme Court, seeking to overturn Attorney General Drummond’s opinion.30 On March 24, 2026, the Oklahoma Supreme Court unanimously rejected the governor’s application, concluding that the dispute was already pending in federal court and fundamentally was a matter of federal law, and thus tribal jurisdiction and comity counseled in favor of deferring to the federal court’s determination. Several justices filed short concurring opinions, including one by Chief Justice Rowe, joined by Justice Kane, which noted that “[t] he federal court is not bound by the reasoning of [AG Drummond’s] Opinion and can reject the analysis of federal law on which the Opinion relies. Once the federal court resolves this question, its decision – grounded in federal law – will likewise settle state question[s] addressed in the Opinion.”31 CONCLUSION Alicia Stroble’s case was a pivotal moment in the post-McGirt legal landscape. It tested whether states can disregard federal Indian law in civil contexts. The U.S. Supreme Court may ultimately decide these federal preemption issues in another future case, particularly on still percolating civil-regulatory hunting and fishing rights challenges. Though many expected it would be, Stroble was ultimately not that vehicle. ABOUT THE AUTHORS Mike McBride III chairs Crowe & Dunlevy’s Indian Law & Gaming Practice in Tulsa. He is a former tribal supreme court justice, attorney general, federal adjunct settlement judge and law professor. Mr. McBride is also a past chair of the OBA’s and Federal Bar Association’s Indian Law sections. Jeff D. Trevillion is a director in the Oklahoma City office of Crowe & Dunlevy and a member of the firm’s Taxation Practice Group. He is an experienced trial lawyer and a certified public accountant who also chairs the White Collar, Compliance & Investigations practice. He is a fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel and currently serves as member-at-large of the OBA Board of Governors. Statements or opinions expressed in the Oklahoma Bar Journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Oklahoma Bar Association, its officers, Board of Governors, Board of Editors or staff.
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