Kristi Noem banned by seventh Indigenous tribe in fallout over drug cartel remarks

Pierre, South Dakota - A seventh Indigenous tribe has voted to ban South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem from its lands!

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has been banned from seven out of nine of the state's Indigenous reservations.
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has been banned from seven out of nine of the state's Indigenous reservations.  © Anna Moneymaker / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

The Crow Creek Sioux tribe on Tuesday became the latest to reject the far-right Republican over insulting comments she made earlier this year insinuating that Indigenous leaders have links to drug cartels.

"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 claimed back in March.

She also said of Indigenous families: "Their kids don’t have any hope. They don’t have parents who show up and help them. They have a tribal council or a president who focuses on a political agenda more than they care about actually helping somebody’s life look better."

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"The people voted unanimously to ban her along with the tribal council for her derogatory remarks about the tribes and cartels," Crow Creek Sioux tribal council member Kyle Loudner told The Dakota Scout on Tuesday. "And about the remarks she made about the children being nobodies their whole lives because of the parents."

The latest ban came after the Yankton Sioux tribe and Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate tribe recently moved to prohibit Noem from entering their lands. Before that, she had already been barred by the Oglala Sioux tribe, the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe, the Rosebud Sioux tribe, and the Standing Rock Sioux tribe.

In fact, only two of nine Indigenous reservations in South Dakota – Lower Brule and the Flandreau Santee Sioux tribe – have yet to ban the governor.

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Kristi Noem (r.) was reportedly on Donald Trump's vice presidential shortlist before publicly admitting she had shot one of her own dogs.
Kristi Noem (r.) was reportedly on Donald Trump's vice presidential shortlist before publicly admitting she had shot one of her own dogs.  © KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / AFP

Backlash over her anti-Indigenous statements isn't the only trouble Noem has experienced of late.

The governor has also faced widespread condemnation over an admission in her memoir that she shot to death one of her dogs whose behavior she didn't like.

Noem also stirred controversy after falsely claiming in the book that she had met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and had canceled a planned meeting with France's President Emmanuel Macron. The French government has denied the statement.

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The slew of negative press came as Noem was under heavy consideration to become Donald Trump's 2024 running mate.

Although the Trump campaign initially distanced itself from Noem after the dog shooting story, the Republican frontrunner has since defended his ally, chalking things up to a "bad week" in the media.

Cover photo: Anna Moneymaker / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

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