Kristi Noem: Trump VP hopeful outlawed in six Native American reservations
Two Native American tribes in South Dakota have prohibited Governor Kristi Noem from entering their land due to her persistent negative remarks about tribal leaders and reservation life.
These recent bans add to existing exclusions from four other reservations this year, effectively preventing Ms. Noem from accessing nearly one-fifth of the state’s territory. This action follows the abrupt end of a national media book tour by the Republicans.
Previously considered a top contender to be Donald Trump’s running mate this year, Ms. Noem’s popularity has waned in recent months due to a series of controversies, including a highly criticized incident involving the shooting of a pet dog.
The Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate and Yankton Sioux tribes passed separate resolutions on Friday, officially barring Ms. Noem from their territories. With these decisions, they join four other tribes—the Cheyenne River Sioux, Oglala Sioux, Rosebud Sioux, and Standing Rock Sioux—in rejecting her presence, collectively encompassing six out of South Dakota’s nine Native tribes.
Tribal governments have the sovereign right to exclude non-tribal members from their lands, and tribal law enforcement is prepared to enforce these measures if necessary.
Governor Noem’s relationship with tribal authorities has been strained throughout her tenure. Despite criminal jurisdiction over reservations lying with tribal and federal authorities, she has consistently sought to expand state power, leading to clashes with tribal leaders.
In 2019, she was banned by the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council after signing anti-riot legislation in response to Native-led protests against the Keystone XL pipeline.
Earlier this year, she faced further criticism for rhetoric linking illegal immigration to crime on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
Additionally, the governor disregarded tribal objections to a 2020 fireworks display over Mount Rushmore and clashed with tribal leaders over coronavirus checkpoints established to regulate visits to their reservations.
Most recently, she alleged Native children “don’t have any hope” because of absentee parents and suggested without evidence that tribal leaders were “personally benefitting” from drug cartel operators.
“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,” Janet Alkire, chairwoman of the Standing Rock Sioux, wrote in a lengthy five-page rebuke in March.
A spokesman for Ms Noem told the BBC that “banishing Governor Noem does nothing to solve the problem… she calls on all our tribal leaders to banish the cartels from tribal lands”.
It is the latest embarrassment for the former rising star of the Republican party.
In her new book, No Going Back, Ms Noem recounts how she shot dead her 14-month-old dog, Cricket, for bad behavior. She also killed a goat she said smelled and was mean.
The governor said the shootings were examples of her willingness to do things that were “difficult, messy, and ugly”.
In another passage, later removed, Ms. Noem claimed she had been to the demilitarised zone between North and South Korea and “stared down Kim Jong Un”. No public record of either action exists.
She also claimed she had been “slated to meet with French president Emmanuel Macron” during a visit to Paris but nixed their sit-down over alleged “pro-Hamas” comments he made in the press.
A French government official said there was no record of a scheduled meeting or even an invitation.
Ms. Noem has hit back at what she calls left-wing “spin”, but her attempts at damage control have failed across the political spectrum. Several interviews have since been canceled.
Last week, Mr. Trump acknowledged Ms. Noem has had “a rough couple of days” but said he liked her “a lot” and noted she “has been supportive of me from the beginning”.
According to US media, however, Trump insiders say she has “killed her chances” of being his vice president.
