Indian Reservations

Best bet is to contact the Tribal Govt of the reservation you want to hunt and go from there. Also get ahold of the G&F Dept of the state in which the reservation is located. You can count on having to get a Tribal hunting License and the regs can be very different than the state as reservations are considered sovereign nations.

I live in ND and lived/worked near the reservation on Devils Lake for over 30 years. The couple times I got Tribal licenses to hunt waterfowl by accessing the lake from Tribal land was such a complex & contradictory process that I decided it wasn't worth the hassle...
 
What state are you looking at hunting reservations in? If it's South Dakota I would advise you to look elsewhere. Some of the reservations in SD are not even allowing you to travel through their land due to COVID. Even in a normal year I would tread with caution if thinking about hunting on the reservations. I'm sure there are some very good hunts but I've also read about some real horror stories. Maybe others on this site can proivde some direct information for you.
 
South Dakota tribes typically have their own Game, Fish and Parks departments. I do some hunting on one of the reservations and hunting aside, it is also a complex web that can be tough to untangle. There is typically Tribal land, deeded land, and private land, as well as possibly some state land. The specific license requirements, regulations and permissions for each can vary. I don't have OnX, but perhaps someone who does can chime in with the accuracy of that application on tribal land. Anyway, contact the tribe your considering and they'll be able to help you out.
 
I hunted on the rosebud res many years ago. What others have said is true: separate license, separate regulations, even different season dates. Rosebud required you to use a tribal guide, not sure about any other reservation's rules. Ours was OK. He was young, a little green, he tried hard, and he had been helping his dad for many years. We booked it knowing there was some risk. I think we would have been much happier with his dad. Got started on the wrong foot when he showed up to the rendezvous late on the first morning. He was in trade school in Rapid City (mountain time) and his phone/alarm clock never adjusted back to central time when he came home the night before. My phone has done that too, so I tend to believe him.

Our biggest issue was the tremendous amount of driving we seemed to do. Some of the spots were productive, but they were far apart. Not really any farther than I typically drive for a day trip, but it was excessive for 3 days in a row. Printed maps tend to show nice clean boundaries for the reservations, but the truth is much more "checkerboard."
 
matto said:
I hunted on the rosebud res many years ago. What others have said is true: separate license, separate regulations, even different season dates. Rosebud required you to use a tribal guide, not sure about any other reservation's rules. Ours was OK. He was young, a little green, he tried hard, and he had been helping his dad for many years. We booked it knowing there was some risk. I think we would have been much happier with his dad. Got started on the wrong foot when he showed up to the rendezvous late on the first morning. He was in trade school in Rapid City (mountain time) and his phone/alarm clock never adjusted back to central time when he came home the night before. My phone has done that too, so I tend to believe him.

Our biggest issue was the tremendous amount of driving we seemed to do. Some of the spots were productive, but they were far apart. Not really any farther than I typically drive for a day trip, but it was excessive for 3 days in a row. Printed maps tend to show nice clean boundaries for the reservations, but the truth is much more "checkerboard."
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That is an excellent point.I was never sure whose land I was on.
 
Dakotazeb said:
What state are you looking at hunting reservations in? If it's South Dakota I would advise you to look elsewhere. Some of the reservations in SD are not even allowing you to travel through their land due to COVID. Even in a normal year I would tread with caution if thinking about hunting on the reservations. I'm sure there are some very good hunts but I've also read about some real horror stories. Maybe others on this site can proivde some direct information for you.
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South Dakota is where I plan to hunt. The last three years I have hunted private land, but due to COVID, that land may not be available this year. Looking at all options, public, grasslands, reservations. Just trying to have a plan before a 1000 miles trip one way.
 
The best and most simple analogy I can make is to say that for you as a non-tribal member hunting on a reservation is not like hunting in another state, it's like hunting in another country...
 
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I was with a tribal member when we hunted on the res.Friend of a friend. He opened up on a flock of turkeys with a ar15, from the road! They dont have many rules.
 
Check out Standing Rock Reservation. They have a map available. You can purchase your license online. A guide isn't required. Here is a tip, NEVER pay your guide up front for the trip. My friends did and the guy never showed back up.
 
My buddy said he read somewhere that some of the Indian Reservations were closed this year to outsiders due to CV-19.
Full disclosure - my buddy doesn't read very well and I was hoping to verify that before we get out there (S.D.) Saturday.
Anyone know?
 
tyhoot2kill said:
My buddy said he read somewhere that some of the Indian Reservations were closed this year to outsiders due to CV-19.
Full disclosure - my buddy doesn't read very well and I was hoping to verify that before we get out there (S.D.) Saturday.
Anyone know?
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Which Rez are you going to?
 
I have studied the map a little more and don't see it being a problem for us, but please correct me if I am wrong or if I need to abandon my plan. We are planning to hunt public land between Salem down to the South about an hour and back toward Mitchell. tyshoot2kill@gmail.com if you want to hit me there and I plan to post videos on YouTube as I can. That channel is Kings' Outdoor Life. Thanks in advance!
 
You'll be fine down in that area. The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe has some restrictions, but you'll be a few hundred miles from there and you won't have to drive through.

Best of luck.
 
Thanks GH - I'll let y'all know how we do. Can you post from jail if we get arrested on Tribal lands? I may need you to post bail! ;-)
 
tyhoot2kill said:
Thanks GH - I'll let y'all know how we do. Can you post from jail if we get arrested on Tribal lands? I may need you to post bail! ;-)
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:) Getting arrested on tribal land is pretty low on my list of things to do, maybe shortly below bailing out a fellow hunter from said tribal ground. Some GoPro footage of the arrest and transport to jail would be fun to watch, however!
 
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