South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem Banned From Another Tribe's Reservation

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem ® on Tuesday was banned from setting foot on the lands of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, after its council took issue with some of her recent remarks suggesting that tribal leaders are benefiting from the presence of Mexican drug cartels.

Noem has also drawn the ire of tribal leaders by deeming Native American parents responsible for the poor academic performance of children in local areas.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council called banishment a “rare but serious form of punishment.”

But Ian Fury, a spokesperson for Noem, took issue with its decision.

“Banishing Governor Noem does nothing to solve the problem,” Fury said in a statement. “She calls on all our tribal leaders to banish the cartels from tribal lands.”

At a forum in March, Noem had suggested that some tribal leaders stand to gain from the presence of drug cartels on local reservations.

“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,” she said.

Shortly after that event, the chair of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council called out Noem, urging her to work with the tribal leaders instead of using inflammatory language against them.

“Noem’s wild and irresponsible attempt to connect tribal leaders and parents with Mexican drug cartels is a sad reflection of her fear-based politics that do nothing to bring people together to solve problems,” Janet Alkire said in astatement at the time. “Rather than make uninformed and unsubstantiated claims, Noem should work with tribal leaders to increase funding and resources for tribal law enforcement and education.”

In February, Noem was also banished from the lands of the Oglala Sioux Tribe in South