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Gov. Kristi Noem holds a press conference in the state Capitol flanked by other state officials and lawmakers. Dakota Scout photo by Austin Goss.
PIERRE — You wouldn’t have known that Gov. Kristi Noem just had the worst month of her political life Friday morning as she left the Governor’s Large Conference Room at the state Capitol.
There, the governor was back to full form during a nearly hour-long briefing, railing on more familiar, in-state political foils than those she has faced over the last several weeks on the East Coast — tribal leaders and members of the media.
Her topic of conversation was also familiar — a critique of the presence of cartels and their drugs in Indian Country. She’s criticized tribal leaders over the last few months for their lack of response to these problems and their unwillingness to cooperate with her in efforts to work against Mexican drug cartels. She also accused the media of being unwilling to cover the issue.
MORE: Mexican drug cartels operating in South Dakota, Noem claims
“Banishing me does not help anything,” Noem said, referring to eight of South Dakota’s nine tribes voting in some form to prevent her from coming onto their reservations. The last remaining one, the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe, will consider a ban Saturday. “Why do they not banish those that are committing the crimes?”
Noem has been at the center of a national political firestorm for a month, as she has responded to a series of accounts in her new book “No Going Back.” Two of them in particular have been national fodder: one where she tells the story of killing her dog 20 years ago, and another falsified account of meeting North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. The governor ended up canceling several media appearances earlier this month after getting questioned by television reporters about the accounts, including by conservative media outlets.
Border, reservations have long been issues for Noem
Noem
But the governor’s advocacy for stronger law enforcement and a border crackdown far precedes her book disaster.
Noem gave a joint address to the Legislature in January where she first pointed the spotlight on cartel presence in South Dakota — a fact substantiated by federal, tribal and state officials. Noem provided further evidence of cartel presence on the reservations with a series of videos, quotes and news releases.
Since her address during the legislative session, Noem has called for a series of reforms, including a federal audit of funds going to the reservations and more mutual aid agreements between state and tribal law enforcement agencies. The attorney general and governor’s offices have teamed up to host a first-of-its-kind tribal law enforcement training academy this June in Pierre.
MORE: Noem’s controversial book contains more factual errors
Where Noem triggered most of the bans against her, according to tribal officials on a number of the state’s reservations, was by taking the comments a step further during a series of town halls in March. There, Noem accused tribal leaders of being tied to the cartels and said that kids on the reservation “don’t have any hope.”
Noem brushed off one of just a few questions lobbed at her, asking if she would issue an apology requested from her by a number of tribal officials for those remarks.
“I keep calling them (tribal leaders),” Noem said. “We reach out every month, we send them letters and emails.”
Noem, others visit Mexican border
Joining the governor for the press conference were state lawmakers JD Wangsness and Mike Walsh, Lt. Gov. Larry Rhoden, Secretary of State-Tribal Relations David Flute, two sheriffs from Dewey and Ziebach counties in Indian Country, and newly appointed tribal law enforcement liaison Algin Young. A majority of those also joined her Thursday on a day trip to the U.S.-Mexico border.
That trip included visiting with a South Dakota Army National Guard unit currently stationed at the border, the sixth unit activated by Noem to go to the border since she took office. The unit there now, Noem explained, is tasked with helping to fortify makeshift border security arrangements.
The consensus from the delegation that made the trip is that illegal immigration across the southern border is causing problems in South Dakota, and they want to find a way to help solve the problem.
MORE: Noem’s national ambitions sink after book debacle
“There is an increase in illegal drugs and gun crimes (on the reservations),” Young, a veteran of tribal law enforcement, said. “They need help, that is what we intend to work towards.”
Following the governor’s press conference, Attorney General Marty Jackley and U.S. Attorney Alison Ramsdell issued a joint statement blaming cartels for moving illegal drugs across the southern border “which then find their way into our South Dakota communities.” The statement stopped short of saying cartels were actively operating in the state.
“We both appreciate how our respective state and federal law enforcement agencies are approaching drug interdiction and investigations through our strong joint drug task forces comprised of our tribal, local, state, and federal partners,” the statement said.