South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (R) is now banned from all tribal lands in the state after the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe voted to bar her from their reservation on Wednesday, citing her repeated claims that the tribal leaders work with drug cartels.
Noem sparked controversy in March when she said tribal leaders benefit from the presence of cartels operating on their lands.
“We have some tribal leaders who I believe are personally benefiting from the presence of the cartels, and that is why they attack me every day,” the governor said at a forum in March. “But I will fight for the people who actually live in these situations, who call and text me every day and say, ‘Please, dear governor, please come help us in Pine Ridge. We’re scared.’”
Relations between the governor and tribes have been strained since she took office in 2019. Some tribes have accused Noem, who was touted as a potential vice presidential pick under former President Trump, of making decisions to boost efforts to Trump campaign.
All nine tribes in the state banned Noem from their land — nearly 20% of the Mount Rushmore state — over the comments, which she refused to back down. Earlier this month, the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Tribe and the Yankton Sioux Tribe voted to ban Noem from reservation lands. The Standing Rock Sioux, Crow Creek Sioux, Rosebud, Cheyenne River Sioux, Oglala Sioux and Lower Brule Sioux tribes took similar votes earlier this year.
Noem reemphasized the sentiment in an interview last week.
“They…have definitely established operations in South Dakota. We’ve seen the Bandits there, MS-13 is there,” she said. “They recruited members of the tribes.”
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe spokeswoman Alli Moran told The Hill last month that several tribes “share the same feelings” toward Noem, specifically that she does not respect or “fully understand” tribal sovereignty.
The governor blamed the Biden administration for criminal activity and called on tribal governments to step up their efforts against gang violence.
“These are some of my poorest communities and they want safe communities. They want their children to be safe,” she said last week. “They don’t want this kind of violence to happen outside their doors.”
“I don’t have jurisdiction there because I’m governor,” Noem continued. “If they are a sovereign nation, the federal government has to intervene and tribal leaders have to intervene.”
The Hill has reached out to Noem’s office for comment.
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