South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has been banished from visiting ten percent of the lands in her own state after she accused some tribal leaders of benefiting from Mexican drug cartels.
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council voted on Tuesday to formally ban the governor, 52, from its reservation for ‘racially charged’ claims she made in March during town hall meetings.
Standing Rock is the third tribal nation to ban the governor after the Oglala Sioux Tribe banished her from its reservation in February and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe banned her last week.
‘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,’ said Tribal Chairwoman Janet Alkire.
‘Rather than make uninformed and unsubstantiated claims, Noem should work with tribal leaders to increase funding and resources for tribal law enforcement and education,’ she added.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has been banished from visiting ten percent of the lands in her own state after she accused some tribal leaders of benefiting from Mexican drug cartels
Standing Rock is the third tribal nation to ban from tribal lands after the Oglala Sioux Tribe banished Noem from its reservation in February and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe banned her last week
Noem sparked outrage among Native Americans after she accused tribal leaders of being in league with Mexican drug cartels last month.
‘We’ve got some tribal leaders that I believe are personally benefitting from the cartels being here, and that’s why they attack me every day,’ she said.
She also accused Native American parents of not being engaged in their children’s lives and blamed them for the poor academic performance in tribal areas.
‘My next step would be to do what I can to get a tribe to participate with me to help their kids be more successful,’ Noem said.
‘Because they live with 80% to 90% unemployment. Their kids don’t have any hope. They don’t have parents who show up and help them.
‘They have a tribal council or a president who focuses on a political agenda more than they care about actually helping somebody’s life look better.’
Her remarks left tribal leaders furious, with five tribes including the Standing Rock Sioux, the Oglala Sioux, lam bang cap 3 the Cheyenne River Sioux, the Rosebud Sioux, and the Crow Creek Sioux since demanding an apology from Noem.
She has not apologized but instead released a statement last week calling on tribal leaders to banish the cartels.
‘I call on all our tribal leaders to banish the cartels from tribal lands,’ said Noem in the news release.
‘The cartels instigate drug addiction, murder, rape, human trafficking, and so much more in tribal communities across the nation, including in South Dakota.
‘I will work with you to sign Law Enforcement Agreements to immediately assist you, respect your sovereignty, and uphold tribal law,’ she said.
On the same day she released the statement, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe council voted 12-0 to ban her from visiting the tribe’s lands.
‘This person has made a lot of accusations about the tribes, about the cartel, council representatives being in bed with the cartel, stuff like that. It’s all false information,’ said District Five representative Robert Walters, who presented the motion.
Prior to the vote, Noem showed up at the quarterly Pe’ Sla meeting uninvited and unannounced, according to the council members.
‘Mr. Chairman, I believe there has to be some kind of policy set up for her to show up at these tribal meetings. She can’t just go in there and do her thing,’ Walters said.
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Chairman Ryman LeBeau said of Noem, ‘The South Dakota governor speaks gossip and lies about our Lakota students, their parents and our tribal councils.
‘(The) SD governor’s statements made on March 13, 2024 perpetuate stereotypes, misconceptions, which are inaccurate and untrue.’
The Oglala Sioux Tribe was the first South Dekota tribe to ban the Republican after the remarks she made about the ever-growing crisis at the US-Mexico border.
She was ‘banished’ from the tribe’s Pine Ridge Reservation after she said she wanted to send razor wire and security personnel to Texas to help deter migrants crossing into the US.
Her remarks left tribal leaders furious, with five tribes including the Standing Rock Sioux, the Oglala Sioux, the Cheyenne River Sioux, the Rosebud Sioux, and the Crow Creek Sioux since demanding an apology from Noem. Pictured: The Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairwoman Janet Alkire (left) and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Chairman Ryman LeBeau (right)
The Oglala Sioux Tribe President Frank Star Comes Out said: ‘Due to the safety of the Oyate, effective immediately, you are hereby Banished from the homelands of the Oglala Sioux Tribe!’
Pictured: Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. The tribe has banned Governor Kristi Noem from going near its lands after the remarks she made about the ever-growing crisis at the US-Mexico border
The tribe’s President Frank Star Comes Out accused Noem of using the border crisis to help get Trump get re-elected.
He said: ‘Due to the safety of the Oyate, effective immediately, you are hereby Banished from the homelands of the Oglala Sioux Tribe!’
Speaking about the migrants coming into the US, the tribe leader added: ‘They don’t need to be put in cages, separated from their children like during the Trump Administration, or be cut up by razor wire furnished by, of all places, South Dakota.’
Noem said that a ‘gang’ calling itself the Ghost Dancers is murdering people on the Pine Ridge Reservation. But the leader took deep offense to this.
The Gov. previously said: ‘Murders are being committed by cartel members on the Pine Ridge reservation and in Rapid City, and a gang called the ‘Ghost Dancers’ are affiliated with these cartels.
‘They have been successful in recruiting tribal members to join their criminal activity.’
The tribal leader said Ghost Dance is one of the Oglala Sioux’s ‘most sacred ceremonies,’ in their community – and he said her reference to this ‘was used with blatant disrespect and is insulting to our Oyate.’
In response to the ban, Noem spokesman Ian Fury said, ‘Banishing Governor Noem does nothing to solve the problem. She calls on all our tribal leaders to banish the cartels from tribal lands.’
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