Four of South Dakota’s federally recognized Native American tribes have barred the state’s governor, Kristi Noem — a Republican whose name has been floated as a potential running mate for former President Donald Trump — from their reservations. The latest blocked Noem on Thursday.
Three of them barred Noem this month, joining another tribe that had sanctioned the governor after she told state lawmakers in February that Mexican drug cartels had a foothold on their reservations and were committing murders there.
Noem further angered the tribes with remarks she made at a town hall event last month in Winner, South Dakota, appearing to suggest that the tribes were complicit in the cartels’ presence on their reservations.
“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,” Noem said.
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