Kristi Noem: Six Native tribes vote to ban Trump VP contender from their land

Kristi Noem, South Dakota governor and Republican who was once considered one of Donald Trump’s top vice-presidential contenders has been banned from the land of six of the nine Native American tribes in the state after claiming thattribal leaders are benefiting fromdrug cartels.

Six Native tribes vote to ban the governor

Last week, two tribes – Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate and Yankton Sioux – in South Dakota voted to ban Noem from their lands joining four others – Oglala, Rosebud, Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Sioux, who had done so earlier this year.

The recent move bans the South Dakota governor from nearly one-fifth of the state territory after she faced criticism for making claims – without evidence – that tribal leaders are “personally benefiting” from drug cartels.

Notably, Noem, who once topped the list of candidates to run for vice president alongside presumptive Republican presidential nomineeTrumpin the upcoming elections has come under fire after she described killing her family dog and a goat in her book.

However, the governor’s claims about the tribal leaders in her state date back to March, when Noem, while speaking at a forum, accused those leaders who had been critical of her catering 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,” said the South Dakota governor, as quoted by the Guardian.

She added, “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.’”

In what can be seen as an attempt to link her past comments about tribal leaders to the United States Joe Biden’s administration and its handling of crime and border security, Noem doubled down on her rhetoric. However, the move seems to have backfired.

On Thursday (May 10), the governor took to X and said, “Tribal 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.”

She added, “We can only do this through partnerships because the Biden Administration is failing to do their job.”

The Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate voted to ban Noem on May 7 and the Yankton Sioux Tribe did so on May 10.

Noem and her book

The Republican recently cut short her book tour, as per BBC, after a few disastrous interviews, including the one where she suggested that Commander, Biden’s dog, should also have been put down.

In her book, “No Going Back,” Noem falsely claimed to have met the North Korean dictator, Kim Jong Un in a passage that the Republican later said she shouldnot have added to the book.

Noem also claimed to have cancelled a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron which his administration has since denied.

(With inputs from agencies)