Four Native American Tribes Ban GOP South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem From Their Land, Now Barred From 15% Of Land In Her State

Four Native American tribes banned South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) from their land after she had made comments linking tribal leaders to Mexican drug cartels.

Earlier this year, three tribes barred Noem from visiting their lands. Last week, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, whose reservation spans North and South Dakota, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and the Cheyenne River Sioux joined other tribes in banning Noem.

In February, the Oglala Sioux Tribe banned the South Dakota governor from the Pine Ridge Reservation after the tribe’s president, Frank Star Comes Out, responded to her remarks about the U.S.-Mexico border in a statement addressed to her.

In early February, Noem said she wanted to send security personnel to Texas to help in deterring migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. She claimed that cartels had been invading South Dakota’s reservations.

Noem replied to Star Comes Out in a statement that declared that she had better results when working with the Trump administration.

The South Dakota governor is now legally barred from entering about 15% of the state’s lands.

She argued during recent community forums that those leaders had been more focused on profiting from those cartels rather than parenting their children on Native American reservations.

“We’ve got some tribal leaders that I believe are personally benefiting from cartels being there, and that’s why they attack me every day,” Noem stated in March during a community forum in Winner, South Dakota.

Tribal leaders criticized Noem for politicizing violent crime incidents taking place on reservations. 

Even though many tribes demanded that the governor apologize, she instead issued a statement advising tribes to “banish the cartels from tribal lands.”

She keeps arguing that proliferating drugs on reservations is proof that “every state is a border state.”

“Governor Kristi Noem’s wild and irresponsible attempt to connect tribal leaders and parents with Mexican drug cartels is a sad reflection of her fear-based politics that do nothing to bring people together to solve problems,” Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council Janet Alkire said in a statement. 

“Rather than make uninformed and unsubstantiated claims, Noem should work with tribal leaders to increase funding and resources for tribal law enforcement and education,” Alkire added.

Noem’s office claimed that banning her from 15% of South Dakota would not solve the problems she raised in her comments at the community forums.

“Banishing Governor Noem does nothing to solve the problem,” Noem spokesman Ian Fury declared in a statement. “She calls on all our tribal leaders to banish the cartels from tribal lands.”

In a past statement, Noem said that “Mexican cartels” impacted South Dakota and that this state had also been the “victim of inaction by the federal government” on those cartels.

“We can load that up, and we can send it there very quickly,” the governor stated. “We’re currently exploring various legal options on how we can support Texas and force the federal government to do their job.”

The governor’s provocative comments about tribal leaders have triggered speculation that she hopes to be the former president’s running mate, a position for which she is reportedly being considered.

South Dakota State Sen. Reynold Nesiba (D) questioned the governor’s recent trip to Texas for dental work and posted a promotional video on her account lauding the dental practice. The senator asked whether public funds or state resources were used and if any possible discounts or favors were exchanged due to the video.

In the video, Noem thanked Smile Texas, a cosmetic dental practice in Houston, for “a smile I can be proud of and confident in.” She identified herself as the governor of South Dakota and showed clips of her speech at a Republican Party event with Trump signs displayed in the background.