The Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe announced Friday it was lifting restrictions on South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem that barred her from stepping foot on its reservation land.
The news comes as Noem, who was tapped by President-elect Trump to lead the Department of Homeland Security, faces Senate questioning during the confirmation process. Noem has publicly apologized for comments she made about the tribe that were deemed offensive.
Tribe President Anthony Reider said the executive committee and leadership council voted to remove the ban in a Tuesday letter obtained by the local newspaper, the Argus Leader.
“One of the stipulations contained in the banishment resolution was that you apologize for the comments that were made regarding tribal members and the education of tribal member children, which were deemed offensive by some,” Reider wrote in the letter.
“In several meetings before and after the resolution was passed, you not only explained your position, but apologized if the comments offended the Tribe,” he continued. “You additionally sought advice on how to phrase such communications moving forward, which the tribe and I appreciated.”
The tribe is just one of nine that banned the GOP governor last year over her criticism. Relations between Noem and the tribes have been strained since she took office in 2019, especially after she suggested last year that the reservations were being used as “safe havens” for Mexican drug cartels.
She also previously suggested that tribal leaders were “personally benefiting” from drug trafficking, according to the Argus Leader.
It’s unclear if fellow tribes plan to lift their bans on Noem more than a year after the restrictions went into place. The reservations make up about 12 percent of the state.
