Go to Article
Excerpt from dailycaller.com
Two native tribes in South Dakota banished Republican Governor Kristi Noem from their respective territories in response to comments she made in March 2024 about tribal leaders, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
The latest banishments — two in less than a week — bring the total percentage of land in South Dakota the governor is banished from to nearly 20%, according to the AP.
Having held a special meeting and vote Friday, the Yankton Sioux Tribe followed the Sisseton-Wahpeton Ovate’s similar action Tuesday as the latest native group to ban Noem, according to the AP. (RELATED: ‘Hereby Banished’: Gov. Kristi Noem Banned From Tribal Lands Over Border Remarks)
Controversy follows Gov. Kristi Noem as she is banned by two more South Dakota tribes https://t.co/Qg0J0CCY3e
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 12, 2024
While three of the nine tribes in the state have yet to ban the governor, the other six who have done so include the Oglala, Rosebud, Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Sioux, the outlet reported.
The tribes’ actions reacted to public remarks Noem made in March claiming tribal leaders were neglecting children and the poor on their reservations in order to accommodate drug cartels, according to the AP.
“We’ve got some tribal leaders that I believe are personally benefiting from the cartels being there, and that’s why they attack me every day,” Noem said at the time. “But I’m going to fight for the people who actually live in those situations, who call me and text me every day and say, ‘Please, dear governor, please come help us in Pine Ridge. We are scared.’”
Noem’s office did not respond to email questions about the latest ban, but the governor has previously stated that, despite any troubles she has with tribal leaders, she believes she still gets support from those who live on the reservations, the AP reported.
Noem addressed the cartel problem in a May 9, 2024 post on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “Tribal leaders should take action to ban the cartels from their lands and accept my offer to help them restore law and order to their communities while protecting their sovereignty.”
Some commentators claim Noem is stirring up the drug cartel issue to deflect attention from the backlash she has faced from passages in her latest book that detail the killing of her hunting dog, Cricket, for misbehaving, the AP reported.
“I’m sure that Gov. Noem doesn’t mind a focus on tensions with the Native Americans in South Dakota because if we’re not talking about that, we’re talking about her shooting the dog,” political observer Cal Jilson said.
About The Author
