Kristi Noem Banned From 20% of Her State

(RepublicanDaily.org) – Kristi Noem may be the governor of South Dakota, but she is banned from entering roughly 20% of the Mount Rushmore State.

The ban follows a vote by the Yankton Sioux Native American Tribe to prohibit the governor from entering their tribe’s land. The vote followed similar decisions from five other Native American tribes, all who have made Noem persona non grata in their respective territories.

The tribes have taken exception to Noem’s comments that certain Native American tribal leaders are benefitting from, and working with, drug cartels.

“That’s why they [Native American tribes] attack me every day,” the South Dakota governor said of the tribes’ negative reaction to her comments.

Noem is no stranger to controversy, especially of late, after observers called her out for several questionable anecdotes in a book about her life, where she supposedly met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, and cancelled another alleged planned meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron. She has also received criticism for her account of having to put down a 14-month-old dog. In addition, in a separate incident, Noem was thrust into the spotlight for a bizarre endorsement of a dental clinic in Texas.

The South Dakota governor, who is also reportedly one of the people former president Donald Trump is looking at for his running mate in the presidential elections later this year, has been largely unapologetic of her actions, and has even doubled down on her statements. In a post on social media, Noem has called on Native American tribal leaders to cooperate with her law enforcement initiatives, which she said would benefit their respective territories. However, the tribes have always shut Noem down, saying that the South Dakota chief executive has no understanding of how tribal sovereignty works.

Relations between the Native American tribes in the state and Noem and her administration have always been strained, beginning when she became governor in 2019. Native American leaders have taken issue with several of Noem’s initiatives, such as her support of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, and her supposed removal of important sections of Native American history from the social science curriculum in the state, and other matters.