Six people from South Dakota and North Dakota pleaded not guilty in federal court to a 12-count indictment accusing them of arranging illegal hunts for deer, pheasants, turkeys and grouse.

Brent Barton, 47, and his wife, Dawn Barton, 46, who own the Mobridge and Mina-area hunting outfitter South Dakota Adventures, are accused of arranging illegal hunts for at least 36 customers between 2003 and 2006.

The hunts took place on the Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Sioux reservations after the couple persuaded state and tribal employees to falsify hunting-license records, authorities said.

Kirk Johnson, 38, and Frankie Johnson, 43, are accused of leasing land to the Bartons and guiding some of the illegal hunts.

Also charged are Connie Frailing, 43, a license agent for the state and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and Dan Haakenson, 60, of Bismarck, N.D., a Standing Rock tribe computer consultant.