South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has been banned from nearly 20% of her state by various Native American tribes due to controversial comments she made earlier this year. This comes on the heels of backlash she faced for writing about killing a hunting dog in her latest book. The Yankton Sioux and Sisseton-Wahpeton Ovate tribes are the latest to ban her, joining several others. Noem had accused tribal leaders of benefiting from drug cartels, which further fueled tensions between the tribes and the state.
Despite the bans, Noem has expressed belief that many people living on reservations still support her, despite her strained relationships with tribal leaders. She has called on tribal leaders to take action against cartels and has offered her help in restoring law and order to their communities. Noem has criticized the Biden administration for failing to address these issues. However, her comments have not been well-received by the tribal communities, who have had rocky relations with her in the past over various issues such as the Dakota Access Pipeline protests and COVID-19 checkpoints.
The ongoing tribal dispute has put a spotlight on the history of fraught relations between Native Americans in South Dakota and the government, with events such as the Wounded Knee massacre in 1890 still reverberating. Political observers suggest that Noem may be deliberately stoking tensions with the tribes for political benefit. Her controversies, including the dog-killing incident and implausible anecdote about North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, have also raised doubts about her chances as a potential running mate for former President Donald Trump.
The controversy surrounding Noem’s actions, including the decision to kill the hunting dog Cricket, has overshadowed other aspects of her political career, such as her book tour and potential vice-presidential aspirations. Her cancellation of interviews and the fallout from various controversies have raised questions about her political future beyond her current term as South Dakota governor. Noem could potentially pursue a Senate seat or aim to return to the House of Representatives, but her political trajectory remains uncertain in the wake of these controversies and tribal disputes.
