South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has been banned from entering nearly 20% of her state since two tribes deported her this week over comments she made earlier this year that tribal leaders were benefiting from drug cartels.
The latest development in the ongoing tribal conflict follows backlash for Noem writing about killing misbehaving hunting dogs in her latest book. It’s unclear how these controversies will affect her chances of becoming Donald Trump’s running mate, as it’s difficult to predict what a former president will do.
The Yankton Sioux tribe voted Friday to ban Noem from their land in southeastern South Dakota, just days after the Sisseton-Wahpeton Ovate tribe took the same step. The Oglala, Rosebud, Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Sioux tribes have already taken steps to remove her from her reservation. The other three tribes have not banned her yet.
Noem strengthened divisions between the tribe and the rest of the state in March when she publicly said tribal leaders were catering to drug cartels on the reservation while ignoring the needs of children and the poor.
“There are tribal leaders who feel they are personally benefiting from the existence of the cartel, so they attack me every day,” Noem said at the forum. “But I will fight for the people who are actually in that situation, the people who call me and text me every day and say, ‘Please Governor, please come to Pine Ridge and help us.’ “We are scared.”
A spokeswoman for Noem did not respond Saturday to emailed questions about the ban. But she has previously said she believes many people on the reservation still support her, despite her being at odds with her tribal leaders.
Noem solved the problem as follows: post to On Thursday, we posted a link to our YouTube channel for videos from law enforcement about drugs on the reservation.
“Tribal leaders must take action to ban cartels from their lands and accept my offer to help restore law and order to their communities while protecting their sovereignty,” Noem said. “We can only do this through partnerships because the Biden administration is not doing its job.”
The tribes have clashed with Noem in the past, including during the Dakota Access Pipeline protest at Standing Rock in 2016 and over the establishment of coronavirus checkpoints at the reservation border to deter unnecessary visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic. She was temporarily banned from the Oglala Sioux Reservation in 2019 following a protest controversy.
And the rocky relationship between the state’s Native Americans and the government dates back to 1890. Soldiers at the time shot and killed hundreds of Lakota men, women and children in the Wounded Knee massacre, part of a campaign to stop the religious group. A practice known as the Ghost Dance.
Cal Jillson, a political observer at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, said the tribal conflict seems a little different because Noem “seems to be actively encouraging this tribal conflict.” This suggests that she is seeing her political interests.
“I’m sure Governor Noem wouldn’t mind focusing on tensions with Native Americans in South Dakota, because if we don’t talk about that, we’re talking about her shooting dogs,” Jillson said. said.
Noem seems tired of answering questions about her decision to kill Cricket after the dog attacked the family’s chickens and attempted to bite the governor on the way home from a hunting trip. Noem also faced criticism for including an anecdote she asked her publisher to remove from the book that depicted North Korean leader Kim Jong-un “glaring” during a closed-door meeting that experts said was hard to believe.
Following this controversy, she canceled several interviews planned as part of her book tour. With all the questions about “No Going Back: The Truth About What’s Wrong with Politics and How to Move America Forward,” no one has any questions about Noem’s decision to appear in an infomercial-style video lavishly praising her team of cosmetic dentists. I won’t ask any more. In Texas, which gave her her veneers.
Jillson said all of this would hurt his chances with Trump, who has been auditioning a long list of potential vice presidential candidates.
“I think the chaos that Trump enjoys is the chaos that he creates. Chaos created by others only distracts from one’s own,” Jillson said.
Michael Card, a political science professor at the University of South Dakota, said Noem’s political future is unclear because, if not for the vice president’s position, she would not be able to run as the next governor. Noem is in his second term as governor.
Card said she could run for U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds’ seat or try to return to the House.
