THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL 40 | AUGUST 2026 ENDNOTES 1. 2025 OK 48, —P.3d – (petition for certiorari filed on Sept. 29, 2025, No. 25-382, petition denied, April 6, 2026). 2. McGirt v. Oklahoma, 140 S.Ct.. 2452, 207 L.Ed.2d 985 (2020). 3. Application of the Oklahoma Individual Income Tax to Native Americans, OAC 710:50-152(b), cites the qualifying factors for tribal income exemption from Oklahoma Tax and incorporates the “Indian country” definition in 18 U.S.C. 1151, specifically addressed in the McGirt decision. 4. Okla. Admin. Code §710:50-15-2. 5. In the Matter of the Income Tax Protest of Alecia Stroble, Case No T-21-014-S (April 12, 2022). 6. OTC Order No. 2022 10 04 14 (Oct. 5, 2022). 7. This includes the five large tribes with McGirt reservations that occupy most of eastern Oklahoma. The Cherokee, Chickasaw and Choctaw filed a joint amicus curiae briefs while the Seminole and Creek Nations filed separate amici curiae briefs. 8. McClanahan v. Arizona State Tax Comm’n, 411 U.S. 164 (1973). 9. 508 U.S. 114 (1993)(for the categorical prohibition on state taxation of an Indian citizen’s income to apply, “it is enough that the member live in ‘Indian country.’ Congress has defined Indian country broadly . . . . See 18 U.S.C. §1151” and “we ask only whether the land is Indian country” under Section 1151). 10. See Supra note 3i. 11. OAC 710:50-15-2(a)(1). 12. See Supra note 1 at ¶10. 13. Id. at ¶11 (endnote 3 omitted). 14. Supra note 1, Rowe Concurrence ¶1,¶3,. 15. Id., Kuen Concurrence ¶1, ¶6, ¶7. 16. Id., Winchester Concurrence ¶1, ¶4. 17. Id., Darby Concurrence ¶1. 18. Id., Kane Concurrence ¶37. 19. Id., Kane Concurrence ¶38. 20. Id., Kane Concurrence ¶42. 21. Id. Dissent. 22. Alicia Stroble v. Oklahoma Tax Commission, Petition for a Writ of Certiorari in the Supreme Court of the United States, No. 25-382. 23. National Congress of American Indians, United South and Eastern Tribes Sovereignty Protection Fund, Native American Finance Officers Association, and the National Intertribal Tax Alliance – Amicus Brief, No 2025-382, 6. 24. Seminole Nation Amicus Brief, No. 2025382, 5. 25. DeCoteau v. Dist. Cnty. Ct. for Tenth Jud. Dist., 420 U.S. 425, 427 n.2 (1975); Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Sac and Fox Nation, 508 U.S. 114, 123 (1993); Alaska v. Native Vill. of Venetie Tribal Gov’t, 522 U.S. 520, 527 (1998); Mustang Production Co. v. Harrison, 94 F.3d 1382 (1996), certiorari denied 117 S.Ct. 1288, 520 U.S. 1139, 137 L.Ed.2d 364 (1997) (involving the Cheyenne & Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma). 26. For scholarship, see Stacy Leeds and Lonnie Beard, A Wealth of Sovereign Choices: Tax Implications of McGirt v. Oklahoma and the Promise of Tribal Economic Development, 56 Tulsa L. Rev. 417 (2021). 27. Wade Free, et. al. and Gov. Kevin Stitt v. Gentner Drummond, MA-123759 (Okla.) mandamus action filed on Jan. 27, 2026, ¶25-38, recounting the rapidly increasing legal tensions in the fall of 2025 over state game wardens and a special prosecutor enforcing state civil hunting license requirements on Native Americans on the reservation. Governor Stitt relied upon subsequent state court rulings including the Stroble, and City of Tulsa v. O’Brien, — P.3d —, 2024 OK CR 31, 2024 WL 5001684 decisions, as well as the post-McGirt decision of Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta, 597 U.S. 629 (2022) to support enforcement. 28. See Cherokee Nation v. Free, et. al., No. 25-cv-630-CVE-JFJ (N.D. Okla.) (Complaint filed Nov. 18, 2025). The lawsuit is pending on a request for a preliminary and permanent injunction. On June 11, 2026, the court denied Oklahoma’s motions to dismiss finding that “colorable claims that it has treaty rights” and directed the parties to propose a scheduling order by June 25, 2026, to resolve the case. The companion case is Muscogee (Creek) Nation v. Free, No. 26-CV-0003-CVE-JFJ (N.D. Okla.) (similar claims and ruling also on June 11, 2026). 29. OK AG OP 2025-19 (Dec. 18, 2025) (AG Drummond opined that federal law preempts state application of the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Code to tribal members hunting and fishing on the Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Choctaw reservations. The opinion, which explicitly noted that certain tax and civil rulings do not apply (including the Stroble and O’Brien decisions) prohibit the state from requiring licenses or prosecuting Native Americans for wildlife activities on their respective reservations). His opinion is available at https://bit.ly/4fgP90l On May 13, 2024, in Muscogee (Creek) Nation v. City of Henryetta, OK, No. 25-CV-227-JAR (E.D. Okla.) the district court enjoined the city from prosecuting an Indian, whether member or non-member for conduct occurring within Indian country absent explicit congressional authorization. The district court refused to rely on the state appellate decision in O’Brien or Castro-Huerta. In short, the court wrote “[w]hen federal and state law conflict, state law yields.” Sl. op. at 3. https://bit.ly/4wHmEzM. 30. Wade Free, et. al. and Gov. Kevin Stitt v. Gentner Drummond, MA-123759 (Okla.) mandamus action filed on Jan. 27, 2026. 31. Id. at ¶2. Justice Kuehn concurred in the result noting that “[t]his Court has no jurisdiction over criminal prosecutions” and should therefore decline to assume original jurisdiction. Id. at ¶1. Justice Jett, joined by Justice Winchester noted that the litigation needed factual development and the federal court had the matter in hand. Id. at ¶1 & ¶5. They also noted that the AG Opinions are “merely advisory”. Id. at ¶2 & ¶5. 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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