Amelia Schafer
ICT + Rapid City Journal
RAPID CITY, S.D. — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is now banned from all but one reservation in the state following a May 15 vote taken by the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe.
During a regular tribal council meeting, the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe in central South Dakota voted to banish the governor until further notice.
“She was banned for the statements she made in regards to our Native youth, their parents and the blatantly disrespectful and hurtful words she’s stated about the tribes,” Chairman Clyde Estes told ICT and the Rapid City Journal. “There have been a lot of untruths and we do not take kindly to those. We stand in solidarity with our Oceti Sakowin tribes in South Dakota.”
So far, all eight tribes that have banned the governor have cited her offensive statements made on Jan. 31, March 13 and March 26. Many tribes were also offended by Noem showing up uninvited and unannounced to a quarterly meeting regarding Pe’Sla — land sacred to the Oceti Sakowin — on March 29.
“We remain hopeful she will retract her statements and issue an apology. In the meantime, we’ll be praying for her,” Estes said.
On Tuesday, the Crow Creek Sioux Tribal Council voted unanimously to ban Noem from entering its central South Dakota reservation. The Yankton Sioux Tribe banned Noem on May 10, and the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate banned her May 7.
Noem has repeatedly alleged that Mexican cartels are operating on tribal land in South Dakota. On March 13, she accused tribal governments of benefiting off of the alleged cartel presence and of failing their people, particularly youth. On March 26, she called for audits of all nine tribes.
As sovereign nations, tribal governments are allowed to ban anyone from their lands. According to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, tribes possess the right to regulate activities within their jurisdiction, which includes the banishment of persons, Native or non-Native.
The Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe is the only tribe in the state that has not banned the governor. In a phone call on May 14, a Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe official said the tribe currently does not have plans to ban Noem.
The governor’s communications director did not respond to a request for comment May 15 about her recent banishment.
This story is co-published by the Rapid City Journal and ICT, a news partnership that covers Indigenous communities in the South Dakota area.
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