'I kind of thought he made it up': Otoe-Missouria member asking for answers after getting ticket over tribal vehicle tags

ENID, Okla. (KOKH) — An Otoe-Missouria tribal member is asking for answers after she got a ticket over her tribal vehicle tags on Nov. 7.

An Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper pulled Crystal Deroin over for speeding and gave her a second ticket for having an Otoe-Missouria tag while not residing on the tribe's land.

In an interview with FOX 25, Deroin explained the second ticket and its $249 fine caught her off guard.

"I was told I could drive in the State of Oklahoma so I didn't fully understand... I kind of thought he made it up." she asserted.

According to the OHP, tribal members can only have tribal tags if they register their vehicles with their tribe and garage their cars on tribal territory.

There are exceptions. Cherokee, Choctaw, and Chickasaw members can live outside of tribal territory and have tribal tags through compacts with the state.

Deroin noted, "A lot of citizens, you know, with fixed incomes are going to get hit with this $249. It's hefty. It's something I can't afford."

The Otoe-Missouria website says the tribe issues tags for enrolled members living in Oklahoma.

The tribe shared the following statement on Thursday:

On Wednesday, the Tribe was made aware of an incident that occurred to one of our enrolled tribal members residing in Garfield County. This person was issued a $249 traffic citation for failure to pay state taxes on their motor vehicle. The justification for the citation was that the tribal member did not have a right to a tribal tag because, by the estimation of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol officer, the tribal member lives outside of the Otoe-Missouria tribal jurisdiction.

Otoe-Missouria Chairman John Shotton also shared the following:

After over 20 years of cooperation between the State and Tribes regarding vehicle tag registration, it appears the State has altered its position of understanding concerning tribal tags. This change was made without notice or consultation with all Tribes that operate vehicle tag registration. We are concerned about this change and are reviewing all legal options to address this issue. Once again, consultation and/or diplomacy with the tribal governments prior to this policy implementation would have been helpful to avoid this difficult situation.

"I see it as my tribal leaders are telling me you know you can register to your car here and [be] able to drive, and what my leaders told me is what I've been doing," added Deroin.

She says she has multiple vehicles and is worried about having to pay a slew of new registration fees.

She also explained she has until Jan. 8th to go to court over this, but plans on sticking to her tribal tags in the meantime.

"I hope that this you know, actually, gets out to other people because it's going to start happening you know left and right, and so it is a hefty fine that I hope we can all avoid," said Deroin.