Standing Rock Reservation - Tribe Land vs Allotted Tribe Land

[G&D920]

Drew a tag for the Standing Rock Rez in South Dakota and looking for insight on how to know if Allotted Tribe land is huntable WITHOUT Permission? Not afraid to ask for permission, but being and out of state person and coming over for a week, I would really like to make the most of hunting when there vs knocking on doors.

Not afraid of doing some homework to figure it out, but thought I begin the conversation here

 

[49ereric]

No person enrolled tribal member or not may hunt trap or gather on allotted land of a Native American but you could ask.
my wife’s land is from her great grandmothers allotment.
naturally it doesn’t stop poachers but we get a deer from time to time if we beat them to it.
I forgot to add often allotment land is fractionalized cuz the title was not passed down to 1 heir so forget about asking in that case but there is no way to know as allotment land is held in federal trust and can’t be researched even by the police.
must be a family member to research it. My wife’s family has other land in several locations but all of it is fractionalized. Where we live is not she has clear title.
some allotted land has hundreds of owners.
her crazy cousin turned me in for trespassing and the cops told me they could get no info on this land. Naturally no clear survey boundary line was established so nothing came of it.

 

[matt0550]

Drew a tag for the Standing Rock Rez in South Dakota and looking for insight on how to know if Allotted Tribe land is huntable WITHOUT Permission? Not afraid to ask for permission, but being and out of state person and coming over for a week, I would really like to make the most of hunting when there vs knocking on doors.

Not afraid of doing some homework to figure it out, but thought I begin the conversation here

Be VERY careful hunting the Standing Rock Sioux Nation. I have hunted there for over 20 years now. Things to know: No matter what anyone tells you, you MUST have permission (written) to hunt on ANY allotted land - like I said, don't listen to anyone who tells you otherwise - they either don't actually know what they are talking about or they are setting you up to get into real trouble. Get yourself a tribal map - its only a few bucks. Any yellow or red areas on that map are good to go and you can hunt them without asking a single soul for anything as that is why you paid big dollars for that tag. Anyone who tells you that you cannot hunt those yellow/red lands is a liar and trying to deny you your rights under your license - don't let them get away with it, trust me, someone will try at some point to convince you that you cant hunt somewhere - this is a constant problem on standing rock. If the piece you are looking at is green or white - this is allotted and private lands. You cannot enter or hunt on any green allotted land without written permission and must have that written permission on your person at all times while on that land. As was described above, some of those allotments have literally hundreds of deeded owners...good luck getting all of them to sign your permission slip. any land that shows white on that map is private land and a tribal tag is no good on that land, you must have a state license to hunt any private land even if it is within the boundaries of the tribal nation. Further confusion exists where a guy can corner cross from one yellow piece to another at a corner where there is allotted on one side and private on another. I personally returned to a truck with 4 flat tires parked near such a situation where we did indeed cross a corner post without ever touching the private nor the allotted land - the tires were deflated, not slashed which was nice, but message received. A group of guys that I met up there 3 years back told us a story of how they returned to their truck after hunting on allotted land and found that the engine compartment of their truck had been shot up and the engine was destroyed by gunfire. I cannot verify this story, but they seemed sheepish about telling it to us - I tend to believe there is some truth there. The bottom line is that on the whole, hunters (particularly non-tribal/non-resident) are not well received there. I cant say I really blame the people up there for how they feel about "outsiders", so I go out of my way to make friends and I always bring gifts to the few people that I have gotten to know over the years. Follow the rules 100% and be prepared to provide evidence that you did comply 100%. We leave 3 trail cell cams on our truck now and have thwarted multiple situations as a result - the guys who have approached our trucks knew they were being photographed and left it alone thank God. It sucks to have to go so far out of your way, but that how it is there. I have friends there and love them and their lands...you have to take the bad with the good.

 

[G&D920]

Be VERY careful hunting the Standing Rock Sioux Nation. I have hunted there for over 20 years now. Things to know: No matter what anyone tells you, you MUST have permission (written) to hunt on ANY allotted land - like I said, don't listen to anyone who tells you otherwise - they either don't actually know what they are talking about or they are setting you up to get into real trouble. Get yourself a tribal map - its only a few bucks. Any yellow or red areas on that map are good to go and you can hunt them without asking a single soul for anything as that is why you paid big dollars for that tag. Anyone who tells you that you cannot hunt those yellow/red lands is a liar and trying to deny you your rights under your license - don't let them get away with it, trust me, someone will try at some point to convince you that you cant hunt somewhere - this is a constant problem on standing rock. If the piece you are looking at is green or white - this is allotted and private lands. You cannot enter or hunt on any green allotted land without written permission and must have that written permission on your person at all times while on that land. As was described above, some of those allotments have literally hundreds of deeded owners...good luck getting all of them to sign your permission slip. any land that shows white on that map is private land and a tribal tag is no good on that land, you must have a state license to hunt any private land even if it is within the boundaries of the tribal nation. Further confusion exists where a guy can corner cross from one yellow piece to another at a corner where there is allotted on one side and private on another. I personally returned to a truck with 4 flat tires parked near such a situation where we did indeed cross a corner post without ever touching the private nor the allotted land - the tires were deflated, not slashed which was nice, but message received. A group of guys that I met up there 3 years back told us a story of how they returned to their truck after hunting on allotted land and found that the engine compartment of their truck had been shot up and the engine was destroyed by gunfire. I cannot verify this story, but they seemed sheepish about telling it to us - I tend to believe there is some truth there. The bottom line is that on the whole, hunters (particularly non-tribal/non-resident) are not well received there. I cant say I really blame the people up there for how they feel about "outsiders", so I go out of my way to make friends and I always bring gifts to the few people that I have gotten to know over the years. Follow the rules 100% and be prepared to provide evidence that you did comply 100%. We leave 3 trail cell cams on our truck now and have thwarted multiple situations as a result - the guys who have approached our trucks knew they were being photographed and left it alone thank God. It sucks to have to go so far out of your way, but that how it is there. I have friends there and love them and their lands...you have to take the bad with the good.

Thanks for your reply and detailed information based off your experience.

1.) Curious what your take is on corner crossing. Your statements above did not make it 100% clear. Legal or not?

2.) I like the idea of cell cameras. Where/how do you position them in your truck?

 

[G&D920]

Be VERY careful hunting the Standing Rock Sioux Nation. I have hunted there for over 20 years now. Things to know: No matter what anyone tells you, you MUST have permission (written) to hunt on ANY allotted land - like I said, don't listen to anyone who tells you otherwise - they either don't actually know what they are talking about or they are setting you up to get into real trouble. Get yourself a tribal map - its only a few bucks. Any yellow or red areas on that map are good to go and you can hunt them without asking a single soul for anything as that is why you paid big dollars for that tag. Anyone who tells you that you cannot hunt those yellow/red lands is a liar and trying to deny you your rights under your license - don't let them get away with it, trust me, someone will try at some point to convince you that you cant hunt somewhere - this is a constant problem on standing rock. If the piece you are looking at is green or white - this is allotted and private lands. You cannot enter or hunt on any green allotted land without written permission and must have that written permission on your person at all times while on that land. As was described above, some of those allotments have literally hundreds of deeded owners...good luck getting all of them to sign your permission slip. any land that shows white on that map is private land and a tribal tag is no good on that land, you must have a state license to hunt any private land even if it is within the boundaries of the tribal nation. Further confusion exists where a guy can corner cross from one yellow piece to another at a corner where there is allotted on one side and private on another. I personally returned to a truck with 4 flat tires parked near such a situation where we did indeed cross a corner post without ever touching the private nor the allotted land - the tires were deflated, not slashed which was nice, but message received. A group of guys that I met up there 3 years back told us a story of how they returned to their truck after hunting on allotted land and found that the engine compartment of their truck had been shot up and the engine was destroyed by gunfire. I cannot verify this story, but they seemed sheepish about telling it to us - I tend to believe there is some truth there. The bottom line is that on the whole, hunters (particularly non-tribal/non-resident) are not well received there. I cant say I really blame the people up there for how they feel about "outsiders", so I go out of my way to make friends and I always bring gifts to the few people that I have gotten to know over the years. Follow the rules 100% and be prepared to provide evidence that you did comply 100%. We leave 3 trail cell cams on our truck now and have thwarted multiple situations as a result - the guys who have approached our trucks knew they were being photographed and left it alone thank God. It sucks to have to go so far out of your way, but that how it is there. I have friends there and love them and their lands...you have to take the bad with the good.

@matt0550 - One other questions.

I have a Map from the Standing Rock Game and Fish as you mentioned.

What's the difference between the Yellow (Tribal Land) and Red (Tribal Fee) IN TERMS OF PUBLIC ACCESS w/ my Tag?

 

[matt0550]

1. Corner crossing: entirely depends on who you ask about this. I can tell you that I have posed this very question to members of tribal council, SRSTGF and two different tribal rangers in the field. Mixed bag of answers, but what i have settled on is that both tribal rangers I spoke with said that while someone could "make hay" over it that their complaint wouldn't go anywhere and you'd be asked not to do the same thing in the same place(find a better way in). I have never been challenged for my corner crossing there, but that certainly doesn't mean it wont happen at some point and I'm prepared to render a meaningful apology and not return to that corner again.

2. Trail cam mounting: I cant take a pic of it right now cause its at my buds house, but we made a small wooden frame out of 2x2 triangle shaped with three posts sticking up off of each of the three angles standing about 16" angled out at about 20 degrees down. The cams mount right to each of those legs with one cam facing the front of the truck and the other two facing rearward on angles....all three fields of view overlap. we just toss the frame up on the roof of the truck and voila - we can see who visits or IF anyone has. It doesn't scratch up the truck cause i just glued a small piece of harbor freight moving blanket to the bottom of it and due to its weight it doesn't move even in stiff wind (a fella does have to remember to take it off when he leaves - ask me how i remember that so well now). Works really well, i mean someone could still come up, steal the cams and do whatever their gonna do, but you will have already photographed them multiple times by the time they do this and so you will at least have a suspect(s).

3. Tribal map clarification: The YELLOW parcels on the map are open tribal lands - meaning that they are owned by and under the direct dominion of the tribes control. Your VERY expensive non-member/non-resident deer license grants you unfettered access to every inch of this land without exception. The RED parcels are also tribal lands which through one dealing or another the tribe is forced to pay state taxes on (God only knows what crappy purpose) this land is known as tribal fee land and just as the yellow parcels, your hunting licensed grants you 100% full and total access. Fee lands get hunted as much as any of the yellow, so you just have to do your due diligence in scouting your locations. There are 1 mile buffer zones around populated areas (all of the towns you will find within the reservation)- Do yourself a favor and make those 1.5 miles for the sake of not having unwanted contact with unhappy folks...I shot a buck that was 1830 yards from the boundary of a smaller town there and got an ear full along with the loss of a few hours while the whole thing was investigated and while i was exonerated in the end, I still ended up packing out late into the night due to the route I had to take and the late hour upon the conclusion of the investigation.

The Rangers I have met and been checked by over the years are some of the nicest dudes you will ever meet and they go out of their way to let you know that you are welcome there and wish you good luck and a safe adventure every time you speak with one of them. They are sticklers for violations of code (and I support that effort) and they do their jobs right, so make sure you dot every i and cross every t - as we should always be in the first place. The res has its up sides and down just like any other place. It is unfortunate that the herd is in rough shape this year (has been for a couple of years) - with a little luck, the reduction in tags will lead to a rebound (and some mild winters would help quite a bit).

Good luck out there! Feel free to PM me if you want to chat more about strategy/locations - unlike many, I'm not afraid to share what I know.

 

[G&D920]

1. Corner crossing: entirely depends on who you ask about this. I can tell you that I have posed this very question to members of tribal council, SRSTGF and two different tribal rangers in the field. Mixed bag of answers, but what i have settled on is that both tribal rangers I spoke with said that while someone could "make hay" over it that their complaint wouldn't go anywhere and you'd be asked not to do the same thing in the same place(find a better way in). I have never been challenged for my corner crossing there, but that certainly doesn't mean it wont happen at some point and I'm prepared to render a meaningful apology and not return to that corner again.

2. Trail cam mounting: I cant take a pic of it right now cause its at my buds house, but we made a small wooden frame out of 2x2 triangle shaped with three posts sticking up off of each of the three angles standing about 16" angled out at about 20 degrees down. The cams mount right to each of those legs with one cam facing the front of the truck and the other two facing rearward on angles....all three fields of view overlap. we just toss the frame up on the roof of the truck and voila - we can see who visits or IF anyone has. It doesn't scratch up the truck cause i just glued a small piece of harbor freight moving blanket to the bottom of it and due to its weight it doesn't move even in stiff wind (a fella does have to remember to take it off when he leaves - ask me how i remember that so well now). Works really well, i mean someone could still come up, steal the cams and do whatever their gonna do, but you will have already photographed them multiple times by the time they do this and so you will at least have a suspect(s).

3. Tribal map clarification: The YELLOW parcels on the map are open tribal lands - meaning that they are owned by and under the direct dominion of the tribes control. Your VERY expensive non-member/non-resident deer license grants you unfettered access to every inch of this land without exception. The RED parcels are also tribal lands which through one dealing or another the tribe is forced to pay state taxes on (God only knows what crappy purpose) this land is known as tribal fee land and just as the yellow parcels, your hunting licensed grants you 100% full and total access. Fee lands get hunted as much as any of the yellow, so you just have to do your due diligence in scouting your locations. There are 1 mile buffer zones around populated areas (all of the towns you will find within the reservation)- Do yourself a favor and make those 1.5 miles for the sake of not having unwanted contact with unhappy folks...I shot a buck that was 1830 yards from the boundary of a smaller town there and got an ear full along with the loss of a few hours while the whole thing was investigated and while i was exonerated in the end, I still ended up packing out late into the night due to the route I had to take and the late hour upon the conclusion of the investigation.

The Rangers I have met and been checked by over the years are some of the nicest dudes you will ever meet and they go out of their way to let you know that you are welcome there and wish you good luck and a safe adventure every time you speak with one of them. They are sticklers for violations of code (and I support that effort) and they do their jobs right, so make sure you dot every i and cross every t - as we should always be in the first place. The res has its up sides and down just like any other place. It is unfortunate that the herd is in rough shape this year (has been for a couple of years) - with a little luck, the reduction in tags will lead to a rebound (and some mild winters would help quite a bit).

Good luck out there! Feel free to PM me if you want to chat more about strategy/locations - unlike many, I'm not afraid to share what I know.

Matt0550 - thank you for the insight you have been providing I would most defiantly be up for any inside information/Area to look into if you are willing to PM me. (I'm NOT afraid of a little travel or to get off the beaten path) My plan is to pack out any animal if I am luck enough to harvest one. Please PM me.

 

[Skokes]

Be VERY careful hunting the Standing Rock Sioux Nation. I have hunted there for over 20 years now. Things to know: No matter what anyone tells you, you MUST have permission (written) to hunt on ANY allotted land - like I said, don't listen to anyone who tells you otherwise - they either don't actually know what they are talking about or they are setting you up to get into real trouble. Get yourself a tribal map - its only a few bucks. Any yellow or red areas on that map are good to go and you can hunt them without asking a single soul for anything as that is why you paid big dollars for that tag. Anyone who tells you that you cannot hunt those yellow/red lands is a liar and trying to deny you your rights under your license - don't let them get away with it, trust me, someone will try at some point to convince you that you cant hunt somewhere - this is a constant problem on standing rock. If the piece you are looking at is green or white - this is allotted and private lands. You cannot enter or hunt on any green allotted land without written permission and must have that written permission on your person at all times while on that land. As was described above, some of those allotments have literally hundreds of deeded owners...good luck getting all of them to sign your permission slip. any land that shows white on that map is private land and a tribal tag is no good on that land, you must have a state license to hunt any private land even if it is within the boundaries of the tribal nation. Further confusion exists where a guy can corner cross from one yellow piece to another at a corner where there is allotted on one side and private on another. I personally returned to a truck with 4 flat tires parked near such a situation where we did indeed cross a corner post without ever touching the private nor the allotted land - the tires were deflated, not slashed which was nice, but message received. A group of guys that I met up there 3 years back told us a story of how they returned to their truck after hunting on allotted land and found that the engine compartment of their truck had been shot up and the engine was destroyed by gunfire. I cannot verify this story, but they seemed sheepish about telling it to us - I tend to believe there is some truth there. The bottom line is that on the whole, hunters (particularly non-tribal/non-resident) are not well received there. I cant say I really blame the people up there for how they feel about "outsiders", so I go out of my way to make friends and I always bring gifts to the few people that I have gotten to know over the years. Follow the rules 100% and be prepared to provide evidence that you did comply 100%. We leave 3 trail cell cams on our truck now and have thwarted multiple situations as a result - the guys who have approached our trucks knew they were being photographed and left it alone thank God. It sucks to have to go so far out of your way, but that how it is there. I have friends there and love them and their lands...you have to take the bad with the good.

I am heading there next week to chase deer. First time hunting in this type of situation. I appreciate your insight and detail. Hoping for a little luck and decent weather.

 

[ITT10]

Looking to go do some spring turkey hunting on the reservation this spring. How often does the map update? Is the one on the site the one I should reference? It looks like it will be difficult to decifer where I am at with minimal road markings.