Summary
Kristi Noem, South Dakota Governor and nominee for DHS Secretary, faced scrutiny during her Senate hearing over her strained relationship with South Dakota’s tribes.
Noem highlighted a state-funded law enforcement training program to show her commitment to tribal partnerships.
However, she remains banned from 8 of the state’s 9 tribal reservations due to past comments accusing tribal leaders of enabling drug cartels, which Indigenous leaders called harmful and baseless.
One tribe, the Flandreau Santee Sioux, lifted its ban after receiving an apology, but other bans persist.
God damn. Every native american I’ve met IRL was chill as hell and could tolerate a lot of bullshit before losing their cool. How fucked up you gotta be to be banned from 9 different tribes?