Tribes ban Kristi Noem from entering territories after she claims leaders cooperate with cartels

GOP Gov. Kristi Noem has been barred from entering several tribal territories in South Dakota, which make up roughly 20 percent of the state.

The tribes banned the governor from their land after she made statements regarding drug cartels working in the tribal communities, The Washington Times reported.

In March, Noem criticized tribal leadership for allegedly working with drug cartels in their territories while ignoring poverty among their communities.

“We’ve got some tribal leaders that I believe are personally benefiting from the cartels being there, and that’s why they attack me every day,” Noem said at an election forum. “But I’m going to fight for the people who actually live in those situations, who call me and text me every day and say, ‘Please, dear governor, please come help us in Pine Ridge. We are scared.’”

The governor posted on her X account (formerly Twitter) regarding the tribal leaders on Thursday, writing, "Tribals leaders should take action to ban the cartels from their lands and accept my offer to help them restore law and order to their communities while protecting their sovereignty. We can only do this through partnerships because the Biden Administration is failing to do their job."

The Yankton Sioux Tribe and the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Tribe are the most recent to prohibit Noem from entering their territories. The Oglala, Rosebud, Cheyenne River, and Standing Rock Sioux tribes previously banned the governor from their land.