South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem gets 'banished' from tribal land for comments on migrant crisis

PIERRE, SOUTH DAKOTA: Kristi Noem, Republican Governor of South Dakota, has been banished from setting foot on an indigenous piece of land predominantly inhabited by Oglala Sioux Tribe.

Oglala Sioux Tribe’s President Frank Star slammed Noem for talking about sending razor wire and personnel to the border saying she has been 'Banished' from the Oglala Sioux Tribal lands. 

Per the New York Post, Noem was allegedly vying for vice presidency as she made the comments.

On Friday, Star said in a statement that, “Due to the safety of the Oyate, effective immediately, you are hereby Banished from the homelands of the Oglala Sioux Tribe!” 

Using the term ‘Oyate’ which means nation, Star said that Oglala Sioux is a “sovereign nation that is neither a Democrat nor Republican tribe," per Keloland.

Saying that many immigrants are actually Indigenous people searching for “jobs and a better life,” he continued, “[They] don’t deserve to be dehumanized and mistreated by people like Governor [Abbott] and his cohorts.”

How did Kristi Noem react to the banishment?

Following Star’s admonishment of her, Noem reacted by saying in a statement, “It is unfortunate that President (Star) Comes Out chose to bring politics into a discussion regarding the effects of our federal government’s failure to enforce federal laws at the southern border and on tribal lands.”

She continued, “In my speech to the legislature earlier this week, I told the truth of the devastation that drugs and human trafficking have on our state and our people.”

“Our tribal reservations are bearing the worst of that in South Dakota. Speaking this fact is not meant to blame the tribes in any way – they are the victim here,” added Noem.

The 52-year-old Republican governor concluded, “I stand ready to work with any of our state’s Native American tribes to build such a relationship.”

Why has Kristi Noem been banished?

During an interview with Fox News' Martha MacCallum on January 25, Noem extended her support to fellow Republican governor of Texas Greg Abbot, saying she would deliver razor wire via car to secure the border.

Noem said, "Governor Abbott has done the exact right thing," before adding, "And I'll drive him more razor wire from South Dakota if I have to for him to do his job," per Newsweek.

Supporting Abbott's legal battle with the White House, Noem said, "Our Border Patrol agents do not support what President [Joe] Biden is doing," and added, "Our ICE agents on the ground do not support what President Biden is doing. Democrats in the country do not support what President Biden is doing at the southern border, and they disagree with him fundamentally."

She continued to criticize Biden's policies and said, "He's so out of touch," noting, "He's remaking this country—We will be Europe within a year or two if we allow President Biden to continue this invasion of our country."

Internet divided over Kristi Noem's banishment

Netizens were divided in their opinion of Noem's banishment as a major chunk of the social media users supported the banishment and castigated Noem for her words. However, another segment of the netizens supported her and said that she would be the Vice-Presidential candidate if Republicans came into power.

One of the social media users celebrated the news and said, "Celebrate with me. My tribe, the Oglala Lakota Nation has banned Trump loving Republican Governor Kristi Noem from the reservation."

"Great! So how many immigrants will the tribe be taking in?" quizzed someone else.

Another user exclaimed, "Fantastic! Kristi Noem needs to be banned from everywhere."

"Trump gets into office you will be lucky to even know they were ever on that land. Noem will probably be Vice President so get as much use out of that reservation as you can before the Federal Government under Trump decides it is no longer yours," said someone else.

"Oglala Lakota Nation leads America with pride in principals and in spirituality," declared another person.

Another user slammed her, "She deserves everything she gets. It's all your land anyway."

"Wonderful !!!! The man has a spine . The American Indigenous Calling it Out. We are all immigrants but them," admitted someone else.

"Correction. South Dakota exists on Sioux land. It was Sioux long before it was South Dakota. He is correct and did the right thing. He and the Sioux Nation should be running the entire state," voiced another user.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.