South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has been banned from an Indian reservation over her comments on the border crisis. Tribe President Frank Star Comes Out, from the Pine Ridge Reservation, took to social media to announce that the Governor is no longer welcome. “Due to the safety of the Oyate [people], effective immediately, you are hereby Banished from the homelands of the Oglala Sioux Tribe,” he said.
The leader also wrote a four-page letter to Governor Noem accusing her of exploiting the border crisis for political ends, and to boost her chances at becoming Donald Trump’s Vice President.
Governor Noem responded that Star Comes Out and his tribe’s refusal to work with her was unhelpful, and did nothing to solve the state or the nation’s problems. “I am not the one with a stiff arm here. You can’t build relationships if you don’t spend time together,” she said.
It is not the first time the Governor has clashed with Native American leaders in South Dakota. She attempted to have tribal checkpoints dismantled during the coronavirus pandemic, and when the tribes refused, the Trump administration threatened them with funding loss. The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe eventually took down the checkpoints, but on its own time, and its row with the Trump administration fizzled out as Covid infections fell.
Governor Noem is considered a leading possibility for Trump’s Vice President, along with fellow right-wing women Kari Lake of Arizona, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from Georgia, and Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York. Others considered in the running are JD Vance of Ohio and former Presidential candidates Vivek Ramaswamy and Tim Scott.
Some of the contenders have joined Trump at campaign rallies, including Stefanik, who took to the stage with the former President in New Hampshire and has been helping out in campaign offices.
In an interview with Bret Baier, Trump said he had someone in mind and is likely to stick to that choice. He did not elaborate further.
