Trump DHS Nominee Kristi Noem Touted Her Relationship With South Dakota Tribes. She Was Previously Banned From All 9 of Her State's Reservations

Kristi Noem, Governor of South Dakota and nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), faced scrutiny during her Senate confirmation hearing on Friday as her relationship with South Dakota's tribal nations came into sharp focus.

During one passage of the questioning, Noem claimed she fostered partnerships with tribal police, touting a state-funded law enforcement training program as evidence of her commitment to tribal relations:

"I offered to train federal law enforcement officers, BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services) officers but also tribal police in South Dakota at no cost to our tribes. It's been an incredibly powerful tool that we've had to build relationships. Those tribal police officers had the chance to go through academy with local deputies from the counties and state highway patrol troopers that were coming on board and those relationships have built partnerships in our state that we didn't have before."

However, as X users pointed out, her tenure as governor has been marked by conflict, culminating in her banishment from all nine of South Dakota's federally recognized tribal reservations—a ban that has largely remained in place:

The tension between both parties traces back to controversial comments Noem made when kicking off the the state's 2024 legislative session, accusing tribal leaders of enabling drug cartels:

"Make no mistake, the cartels have a presence on several of South Dakota's tribal reservations. Murders are being committed by cartel members on the Pine Ridge reservation and in Rapid City, and a gang called the 'Ghost Dancers' are affiliated with these cartels."

Indigenous leaders, including Clyde Estes of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, rejected these accusations as baseless and damaging. Despite their calls for a retraction, Noem remained unapologetic, further straining relations. As a result, all nine of South Dakota's federally recognized tribes, which cover more than 12% of the state, took the unprecedented step of barring her from their lands, a move they justified as necessary to protect their communities and sovereignty.

For many tribes, these comments revived painful memories of government policies aimed at cultural erasure, such as the federal boarding school era.

On Thursday, one tribe, the Flandreau Santee Sioux, lifted its ban on Noem, explaining that they had received an apology from the Governor:

"The Governor issued an apology to us for the misunderstanding, which was exacerbated by misinformation. Since our first meeting, the Governor has shown us that she is committed to protecting the people of South Dakota including the citizens of the nine Tribal Nations, who share mutual borders with the state."

The Associated Press, which reported the apology on Thursday, also said it had left messages with the other eight tribes in the state to seek information on Noem's status on their land but had yet to receive responses.

According to The Independent, however, Noem is still banned from the remaining tribes, which are the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, Oglala Sioux Tribe, Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and Yankton Sioux Tribe.