South Dakota GOP Gov. Kristi Noem has now been banned from seven Native American tribes in her state.
The Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, in central South Dakota, announced Tuesday they banning her from their reservation. Noem has now been banned from all but two reservations in the state.
The banning comes after Noem tweeted Tuesday, "The lack of tribal law enforcement officers has created multiple deadly crises on our reservations."
Noem also announced Algin Young, who testified about cartels on tribal lands and was fired as police chief for the Oglala Sioux Tribe, is her new Tribal Law Enforcement Liaison.
Reservations throughout the state had previously banned Noem after she alleged during a speech to the Legislature that Mexican drug cartels had infiltrated some reservations.
Other tribes followed suit after she alleged during a town hall meeting that cartels might be "personally benefiting" some tribal leaders.
"I've got nine Native American tribes, and the cartels are set up on our tribal grounds," Noem told Newsmax. "They are facilitating this drug trafficking, this human trafficking through my tribal grounds here in South Dakota, because I don't have jurisdiction there."
Tribes have called on Noem to apologize for her comments. Peter Lengkeek, the chair of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, told NPR the tribe does not have cartels on the reservations.
"We have cartel products, like guns and drugs," Lengkeek said. "But they pass over state highways getting to the reservation. So, putting us all together like that and saying that all tribes are involved in this really shows to the ignorance of the governor's office."
Noem, who was thought to be a potential running mate for former President Donald Trump, has come under fire after she wrote in a new book "No Going Back" about killing her 14-month-old dog, Cricket. She also removed a passage in the book where she described meeting North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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