Yankton Sioux Tribe bans Noem

May 13, 2024

YANKTON, S.D.–Six of the nine Native American tribes in South Dakota have now voted to ban Governor Kristi Noem from their lands.

The Yankton Sioux Tribe Business and Claims Committee voted unanimously Friday to ban the governor, citing her comments about drug cartels, Native American children, and what one tribal council member characterized as, “performative rather than substantive efforts” to engage tribal leaders.

The committee is the primary elected body for the Yankton Sioux Tribe, whose lands are situated in southeast South Dakota.

Governor Noem, in a recent interview with KWAT News, says there’s video evidence of drug cartels at work on South Dakota’s reservations peddling potentially deadly drugs, and that some Native Americans have actually thanked her for speaking out on the problem.