Here’s how to plan a turkey hunt on western tribal lands in the U.S.

To a great extent, my hunting life has revolved around planning a spring turkey season that keeps me in the woods from late March through Memorial Day. To do that requires creativity and lots of road time.

One of my favorite turkey road trips is a meandering loop west from my home base in Minnesota, hunting a combination of American Indian reservation lands and at least one of what they call Prairie Units in South Dakota. This type of trip makes more sense than ever, given that Black Hills nonresident turkey tags next spring will be capped by the state of South Dakota for the first time ever, at 2,225.

Tribal properties

Hunting regulations and the permitting process vary, given that Native American tribes are sovereign nations, with the authority to govern themselves and establish laws and customs within the borders of their reservations. Most or all tribes have websites with details on hunting opportunities for non-members.

In my experience, it’s common for tribal game commissions to wait until a population assessment has been conducted before season dates and limits are set and permits are available for purchase. Every tribal fish and game office that I have worked with has been excellent at phone communication regarding license sales and regulations. Make sure, in each case, whether the tribe requires you to hire a native guide.

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In many cases you have to have the official tags from the tribe. In other words, it’s not good enough that you went online and paid the fee. So you either have to leave plenty of time for the tags to arrive in the mail, or go to the fish and game office on the reservation to pick them up. Depending on where you are going to hunt and stay, that can mean a long drive out of your way.

Extremely important: Even if you are within the boundaries of a tribal reservation, if you are on private land that’s owned by a non-member, you have to have a state turkey license to hunt that spot.

In North Dakota, you have to be a resident to get a spring turkey license from the state. So if you are on a reservation in North Dakota, and you are not a North Dakota resident, you have to hunt only on reservation land (which includes land owned by a tribal member).

This is a misunderstood detail that has led to citations over the years. Which brings us to the topic of maps.

The maps we had in the old days were often hand-drawn and difficult to decipher, so we spent a lot of time knocking on doors to make sure who owned what parcel. It was actually fun and we got to know people and got permission on good spots, but it was an inefficient use of precious hunting time.

Now we have superb digital mapping tools, namely onX Hunt and HuntStand Pro, that reveal land ownership information. You can drive a massive reservation and instantly see who owns each piece of property.

South Dakota prairie units

You have to apply for a license to hunt the prairie units in South Dakota, with a deadline in early February. Some units are reserved for residents, but plenty of them reserve some tags for nonresidents. The units are typically defined by county boundaries.

To see the details and choose units to apply for, go to: gfp.sd.gov/turkey and scroll down to the pdf files. Open the one called Spring Turkey Application.

Regardless of whether you are in a prairie unit or a reservation, chances are you’ll have to learn to hunt turkeys on a wide variety of landscapes that cannot be more different from the classic mature timber habitat found on much of the wild turkey range.

Typically, river, creek, or dry drainages host ribbons of trees, dominated by cottonwoods. There are some stands of hardwoods, which can be key spots.

These turkeys are also content to wander prairie grass during the day, often hundreds of yards from the nearest tree. You can use the terrain to your advantage and creep within calling distance, and luring up a strutting tom in that scenario makes a memory that’s hard to top. 

Tribal Reservations and Hunting Contact Info

Website and/or direct contact info will get you to details on buying turkey tags, hiring guides where required, and other hunt questions.

Hunting regulations can change from year to year, so if you have your sights set on a reservation that was not allowing non-members to hunt turkeys, contact them to see if rules have been updated.

SOUTH DAKOTA

South Dakota contains nine American Indian reservations, some extending into adjoining states.

Cheyenne River Reservation: Located in the Teton division. crstgfp.com

Crow Creek Reservation: Home to the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe. crowcreekwildlife.net

Flandreau Santee Sioux Reservation. Contact Natural Resource Department 605-997-5123

Lower Brule Reservation: lowerbrulewildlife.com

Pine Ridge Reservation: Home to the Oglala Lakota nation. oglalasiouxparksandrec.net

Rosebud Reservation: Located near Mission, South Dakota. rstgfp.net

Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate: Located in the Rosebud Agency. swo-nsn.gov. Contact Fish & Wildlife Department at 605-698-8353

Standing Rock Reservation: Home to the Upper Yanktonai. gameandfish.standingrock.org

Yankton Reservation: Home to most of the Yankton people. yanktonsiouxtribe.net. Contact Wildlife Department at 605-384-3641

NORTH DAKOTA

North Dakota contains all or part of four American Indian reservations.

Fort Berthold Reservation, home of the Three Affiliated Tribes (Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara). tatfishandwildlife.com/hunting-turkey

Spirit Lake Reservation, home of the Spirit Lake Tribe. Spring and fall turkey hunting reserved for Tribal members.

Standing Rock Reservation, home of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. gameandfish.standingrock.org

Turtle Mountain Reservation, home to the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. Contact Turtle Mountain Department of Natural Resources at 701-477-2604

(A small amount of tribal trust land belonging to the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate also exists in southeastern North Dakota, although the vast majority of tribal trust land is in South Dakota.)

NEBRASKA

Nebraska has five American Indian reservations.

Iowa Reservation is home to the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, on land that straddles southeast Nebraska and northeast Kansas. iowatribeofkansasandnebraska.com/fish-and-wildlife

Santee Sioux: home of “the frontier guardians of the Sioux Nation.” santeeparkswildlife.com

Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska is one of three bands of Sac and Fox. All hunting permits are available only to Tribal members.

Omaha Tribe of Nebraska and Iowa: contact Wildlife & Parks at 402-837-4389.

Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska: winnebagotribe.com click on Hunting Permits.

MONTANA

Montana has seven American Indian reservations.

Blackfeet Reservation, with headquarters in Browning, is home to the Blackfeet Nation. The tribe’s actual name is Niitsitapi, meaning “the real people.” blackfeetfishandwildlife.net. No turkey hunting permits are available.

Flathead Reservation is located in Pablo and home to Salish, Pend d’Orielle, and Kootenai Tribes. No wild turkey hunting allowed.

Rocky Boy’s Reservation is located at Rocky Boy Agency and home to the Chippewa Cree Tribe. The Natural Resources Department handles license sales, and non-members are allowed to purchase turkey tags. rockyboyfishandwildlife.com

Fort Belknap Reservation, in the town of the same name, is home to Gros Ventre and Assiniboine Tribes. Non-members can hunt turkeys. Call 406-353-4801.

Fort Peck Reservation is located in Poplar and home to Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes. fishandgame.fortpecktribes.org/hunting. No turkey permits available.

Crow Reservation is found in the Crow Agency, and home to the Crow Nation. Contact Apsaalooke Nation Fish, Wildlife and Parks at 406-679-0337. Non-member turkey permits are available.

Northern Cheyenne Reservation is located in Lame Deer, home to the Northern Cheyenne Tribe. It’s unclear as to whether they permit non-members to hunt turkeys. Call 406-477-6284 for updates.

WYOMING

Wyoming has one American Indian reservation, the Wind River Indian Reservation. It is home to Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes. Only enrolled members of the Shoshone or Arapaho Tribes can hunt on the reservation.