Why was a driver issued a ticket for a tribal tag? What we know about the ticket, Oklahoma law, and what's changed

News that Oklahoma police ticketed a driver over her tribal license plates has generated a swarm of questions about what happened and what it means for other drivers.

Here is what is known so far. We will be updating this story as we learn more.

Was a driver ticketed in Oklahoma because of her tribal tags?

Crystal Deroin was speeding in Garfield County when she was pulled over by a state trooper. Her vehicle had current license plates issued by her tribe, the Otoe-Missouria Tribe based in Red Rock. She had just renewed the plates in September.

When the trooper found out she lived in Pond Creek, he told her she would be cited over her plates. She said he told her that her home address was outside of her tribal jurisdiction, so she owed state taxes on her vehicle.

The ticket cites her for operating “a vehicle on which all taxes due to the state have not been paid.”

Did troopers stop the driver because of her tribal tag?

No. Both Deroin and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol say she was stopped for another reason. She said she was driving over the speed limit.

It was only after the trooper found out where she lived that he wrote ticket for failing to pay state taxes.

In the comments section of the ticket, the trooper wrote: “Otoe Missouria tribal tag but has residence in Pond Creek outside of the tribal jurisdictional area.”

Can Oklahoma Highway Patrol ticket drivers because of their tribal plates?

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol confirmed that it had wrote Deroin a ticket tied to her tribal plates and provided a memo to The Oklahoman explaining why.

The memo cited a 1993 Supreme Court ruling, Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Sac and Fox Nation, as the basis for the ticket. Under that ruling, according to the state’s memo, “There are two circumstances in which an Indian living in Oklahoma may use a tribal tag in lieu of a state-issued tag.”

Those include drivers who have registered their vehicle through the tribe and “reside and principally garage their vehicle in the tribe’s Indian country” and “for tribes with a valid compact with the state, members of those tribes may lawfully use a tribal tax no matter where the person lives.”

“Other than those two circumstances,” the memo said, “all Oklahomans must register their vehicle with an Oklahoma tag and registration. Oklahomans who fail to do so are subject to enforcement under the Vehicle License and Registration Act, which may include a misdemeanor citation and/or impoundment of the vehicle.”

Are Oklahoma troopers changing how they enforce the law on tribal tags?

The governor’s office as well as state officials say they enforcing the law under the 1993 Supreme Court ruling.

But that conflicts with the experiences of tribal citizens, who have driven for decades with tribal tags without problem, regardless of where they live in Oklahoma. State police have long recognized all tribal plates as valid.

Many tribal leaders have said they were completely caught off guard by the apparent policy shift.

Does Oklahoma have a new law that changes how troopers police vehicles with tribal tags?

No, state officials are citing the 30-year-old court ruling.

When did troopers start issuing citations tied to tribal tags? How many have been issued?

These are two things we still don’t know. The Oklahoman asked the Highway Patrol for this information, and a spokesperson said that information would not be provided without a public records request, which could take days or weeks.

Deroin’s ticket came to public light after she wrote about it on Facebook.

Where will the policing shift be enforced? How will it apply in Indian Country after McGirt?

The answers to these questions also remain unclear.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol has not disclosed any information about how often troopers are ticketing motorists with tribal tags for unpaid state taxes. They also haven’t said if troopers are writing the tickets statewide.

The agency has said they will not ticket drivers whose cars are “garaged” — primarily parked — within the jurisdiction of the tribe issuing the tag.

Land that falls within the jurisdiction of tribal nations is collectively referred to as Indian Country, which is a federal term. The jurisdiction of tribes varies from relatively small areas to large reservations in eastern Oklahoma.

The reservations gained legal recognition after the 2020 Supreme Court decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma.

The state does not have criminal jurisdiction over Native Americans in Indian Country. If a state trooper stopped a tribal citizen driving on a tribal reservation and ended up citing them for unpaid taxes on their tribal plates, that citation should ultimately land in tribal court, not state court.

Are all tribal tags subject to the change in policing?

No. Oklahoma officials outlined two scenarios that do not violate state tax law in their view. Those reasons boil down to:

• If the vehicle is registered to and primarily used by a tribal citizen who lives within the jurisdiction of their tribe.

• If the plates were issued by a tribe that has a tag compact with the state.

Which tribes have tag compacts with Oklahoma?

Three currently have agreements where they agree to share revenue generated from tribal tags. Those tribes are the Cherokee, Chickasaw and Choctaw nations. The legislature voted in July to renew those agreements through 2024.

Citizens of those tribes will not be ticketed, the governor's office has said.

How are tribal officials addressing the tribal tag issue?

Many tribal leaders have said they were surprised by the state police changing their stance on tribal tags. The Absentee Shawnee Tribe, Cherokee Nation, Caddo Nation, Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Delaware Nation, Kaw Nation, Iowa Tribe, Muscogee Nation, Osage Nation, Ponca Tribe, Seneca-Cayuga Nation have all issued public statements saying they are looking into the issue.

“Please know this change was made without any consultation with the Osage Nation and without notice,” the northern Oklahoma tribe said in its statement. “The Osage Nation is working on multiple fronts to address this issue.”

Officials of other tribes have also said they are working with their lawyers and meeting with state officials to try to find more information.

“We are in constant communication with our legal team for counsel and determining any action that may be necessary,” said David Hill, the principal chief of the Muscogee Nation based in eastern Oklahoma.

Jacob Keyes, the chairman of the Iowa Tribe based in Perkins, said the timing of the shift during Native American Heritage Month did not go unnoticed.

“Like all of you, I’ve had a tribal tag on my vehicles my entire life and never had an issue,” Keyes wrote in a letter to Iowa citizens.

What is Gov. Kevin Stitt saying about tribal tags?

The governor’s office has described some tribal tags as a public safety concern: “If tribal governments won’t share vehicle registration information with the Department of Public Safety, we can’t keep our officers and our streets safe,” the governor’s office said in a statement.

Some tribal leaders have pushed back against that claim, because they say their law enforcement agencies do share information with state police. They use a shared database called the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Telecommunications System, which allows officers on the ground to all have access to the same information.

Has Oklahoma’s attorney general weighed in on tribal tags?

The Absentee Shawnee Tribe based in Shawnee has formally called on Attorney General Gentner Drummond to intervene.

“We are seeking intervention by the state attorney to pause this from happening until cool heads can regain control of negotiations,” the tribe said in a statement.

In a statement, the Attorney General's Office said Drummond was not consulted about the change and is reviewing the legal guidance that troopers received.

When asked whether Drummond would intervene, the office did not specify. "The attorney general’s highest priority is public safety, and he believes the compacting process is the ideal avenue to address these concerns," his office said.

How many tribes issue license plates in Oklahoma?

Most Oklahoma tribal nations issue plates to their citizens. Each of those tribe has its own laws and rules that set out eligibility requirements, costs and how the tag revenue is spent.

These tribes list tag services on their websites:

• Absentee Shawnee Tribe

• Apache Tribe of Oklahoma

• Caddo Nation of Oklahoma

• Cherokee Nation

• Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes

• Chickasaw Nation

• Choctaw Nation

• Citizen Potawatomi Nation

• Comanche Nation

• Delaware Nation

• Delaware Tribe of Indians

• Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma

• Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma

• Kaw Nation

• Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma

• Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma

• Miami Tribe of Oklahoma

• Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma

• Muscogee (Creek) Nation

• Osage Nation

• Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians

• Ottawa Tribe

• Pawnee Nation

• Peoria Tribe of Indians

• Ponca Tribe of Indians

• Quapaw Nation

• Sac and Fox Nation

• Seneca-Cayuga Nation

• Shawnee Tribe

• Tonkawa Tribe of Indians

• United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians

• Wichita and Affiliated Tribes

• Wyandotte Nation

Editor's note: This was a developing story and will be updated.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: What to know about tribal tag laws in Oklahoma after driver ticketed