OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A federal judge has ordered Gov. Kevin Stitt and Native American tribes to mediate their months-long dispute over the gambling compacts that give tribes the exclusive right to operate casinos in the Oklahoma.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge Timothy D. DeGiusti ordered the tribes and the Republican governor to submit a list of three proposed mediators. The court will quickly appoint one mediator to facilitate discussions.

Monday's decision is in response to a December lawsuit filed by three of the state's most powerful Native American tribes— the Chickasaw, Cherokee and Cho...