Gov. Kristi Noem’s most recent stop took her to Walworth County, and she fielded questions from voters at a local café.
A member of the Standing Rock tribal council was in attendance Friday, and Noem took the opportunity to tout her willingness to work with tribes.
“We do a lot of agreements with them to help their communities," Noem said. "I don’t have any jurisdiction on tribal lands, it is federal property, I’ve been trying to get DoJ to go out there for years and give them more law enforcement. In fact, a couple of our tribes are suing the federal government for underfunding law enforcement, and I am supporting them in that.”
The governor is referencing a lawsuit filed by the Oglala Sioux Tribe which contends the federal government is not following its treaty obligations to fund law enforcement efforts on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Those treaty obligations date to the mid-1800s.
Currently, there are only 33 officers serving an area larger than the state of Delaware. Estimates of proper law enforcement service would place that number closer to 200.
However, remarks at a recent town hall relating to tribal government and gang activity were seen as inflammatory by many tribal members. Once again, the governor contested tribal government ”is not enforcing law.”
Leaders from several tribes – including the Cheyenne River, Rosebud, and Oglala Sioux – spoke out against the comments. Noem did not address their calls for an apology during this event.
Further, Noem has been formally banned from the Pine Ridge Reservation via two separate council actions on account of her rhetoric.
But one question from a resident, how does Noem plan to combat increasing polarization in the political sphere, prompted the governor to open the door for communication.
“I think that we have to start talking to people again," Noem said. "If you turn on the news at night and you listen to what’s going on, a lot of times people get so discouraged that they feel like they don’t have any hope that anything is ever going to get better. You have to be truthful and tell the facts, but you also have to show people that there’s something to be hopeful about and that America is still a special place to be.”
Attendees also asked about parks and rec, sports betting, and Department of Justice spending.