South Dakota governor banned from Oglala Sioux reservation over southern border remarks

The president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, Frank Star Comes Out, released a four-page statement on Friday barring South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem from the Pine Ridge Reservation. The ban comes after Noem spoke before a joint session of the South Dakota legislature last Wednesday. She and her administration are considering sending barbed wire and security forces to Texas to support state efforts to secure the U.S. southern border. Noem declared that the United States “is in a time of invasion.” She also said that the drug cartel had a presence on several South Dakota tribal reservations. In his statement, Frank Star Comes Out countered that “drug and human trafficking are occurring throughout South Dakota and surrounding states, not just on Indian reservations.”

What was Noem’s reaction? On Saturday, Noem issued a statement responding to the ban. She accused Frank Star Comes Out of bringing politics into the situation and said she is still ready and willing to work with any of the state's tribes.

Dig deeper: Read Mary Jackson’s report in WORLD Magazine about repatriating Native American remains and artifacts.