A South Dakota Native American tribe, the Oglala Sioux, banned Republican Gov. Kristi Noem from the Pine Ridge Reservation over her stance on the ongoing border crisis, according to the Associated Press (AP).
Noem spoke Friday at the joint session of the state’s legislature in regards to the ongoing border crisis and issues between Texas and the federal government. The South Dakota governor noted that even the Mount Rushmore State had been directly affected by the migrant crisis, warning cartels had infiltrated tribal reservations, namely the Pine Ridge Reservation. Noem affirmed her support of Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, stating she wanted to send more razor wire and security to the Texas border, according to the outlet.
Tensions between Texas officials and the federal government escalated in late January following a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court which allowed the Biden administration to remove razor wire from the border. Following the decision, GOP governors moved to support Abbott as he disregarded calls from the federal government to stand down from enforcing the border against illegal immigration.
Hearing Noem’s support of Abbott in her joint session speech, however, the Oglala Sioux tribal president, Frank Star Comes Out, slammed the governor for her position and banned her from the tribal land, the AP reported. (RELATED: ‘What Has He Done?’: CNN Host Goes Silent After South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem Questions Biden On Border Crisis)
“I believe that many of the people coming to the southern border of the United States in search of jobs and a better life are Indian people from such places as El Salvador, Guatemalan, and Mexico and don’t deserve to be dehumanized and mistreated by people like Governor Abbott and his cohorts. They don’t need to be put in cages, separated from their children like during the Trump Administration, or be cut up by razor wire furnished by, of all places, South Dakota,” the tribal president stated.
“Due to the safety of the Oyate, effective immediately, you are hereby Banished from the homelands of the Oglala Sioux Tribe!”
“Oyate” refers to people or nation, according to the AP.
Frank Star Comes Out noted drug and human trafficking due to cartels were a larger issue and not limited to the reservations, stating they could not be blamed for the actions.
Noem released a press statement Saturday calling the tribal leader’s decision an “unfortunate” move to bring “politics” into the discussion. Noem said her speech to the joint session was the “truth,” emphasizing that speaking fact was “not meant to blame tribes,” according to the outlet. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: House GOP Whip Demands Mayorkas Explain How Terrorist Was Released Into Country After Crossing Border)
“It is unfortunate that President Star Comes Out chose to bring politics into a discussion regarding the effects of our federal government’s failure to enforce federal laws at the southern border and on tribal lands. My focus continues to be on working together to solve those problems,” Noem stated.
“In my speech to the legislature earlier this week, I told the truth of the devastation that drugs and human trafficking have on our state and our people. The Mexican cartels are not only impacting our tribal reservations; they are impacting every community, from our big cities to our small towns. But our tribal reservations are bearing the worst of that in South Dakota. Speaking this fact is not meant to blame the tribes in any way — they are the victim here. They are the victim of cartel-driven criminal activity, and they are the victim of inaction by the federal government.”
While Noem stated she would still be “ready to work” with any of the state’s Native American tribes to “to build such a relationship,” tribal President Frank Star Comes Out posted online that the group “must unite and continue the fight for equal rights.”
