Kristi Noem has persistently maintained that Indian reservations in South Dakota are home to Mexican drug gangs.
As a consequence of this and other prejudicial statements, the expulsion of Governor Kristi Noem from their territories has been formally supported by all nine of South Dakota’s indigenous communities.
The executive council of the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe decided on Tuesday to exclude the governor of South Dakota from the reservation. The governor had earlier this year made derogatory comments about Native American parents during a Mitchell town hall, stating that their children “have no hope.”
According to Tyler Rambeau, the FSST Homeowners Assistance Fund’s executive administrative assistant, who spoke with the Argus Leader before the decision, tribal people had pushed council members to expel Noem.
On the day of the executive council’s meeting, the tribe’s council office was abnormally bustling with activity. Members of the tribe would sometimes go into the exclusive meeting rooms for Flandreau Santee Sioux folks to listen to what was supposedly a “pretty heated discussion” before taking a smoke break outdoors in the middle of the early rain.
Following a “respectful and productive” meeting between tribe officials and Noem in Pierre on May 19, the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe issued a statement on Monday describing the conversation.
Noem said she never intended to offend by speaking the truth about the genuine issues being experienced in some areas of Indian land. She said it’s her goal to find answers that will make communities safer places to live, improve kids’ chances of succeeding in school, and reduce the prevalence of addiction. She hoped the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe would provide the opportunity to collaborate in a manner that may serve as a model for everyone.
The Yankton Sioux Tribe’s Business and Claims Committee also unanimously supported Noem’s banishment on May 10.
During a town hall session in Winner in March, Noem ramped up her tone by suggesting—without evidence—that tribe leaders are “personally benefiting” from the cartels. In a news statement she issued in April, she subsequently urged the indigenous communities to “banish the cartels.”
They want to banish her instead.
