A flag representing the Flandreau Santee Tribe is being displayed in the Capitol rotunda following the tribe’s announcement it is lifting its ban against Gov. Kristi Noem.
In a Jan. 14 letter, President Anthony Reider said the Republican governor met one of their stipulations contained in the banishment resolution.
"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 tribal member children which were deemed offensive by some," Reider wrote.
"In several meetings before and after the resolution was passed, you not only explained your position, but apologized if the comments offended the Tribe," Reider continued. "You additionally sought advice on how to phrase such communications moving forward, which the Tribe and I appreciated."
A spokesperson for the governor’s office said multiple tribal members attended those meetings.
Flandreau’s flag is the first to be displayed in the Capitol since the Rosebud and Standing Rock tribes removed their flags last year following Noem’s comments.
“We are so thankful for President Reider for delivering a tribal council resolution, letter, and the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribal flag," said South Dakota Tribal Relations Secretary David Flute in a statement.
"We encourage other tribes to consider sending their flags to be displayed in the Capitol," Flute continued. "We will continue forward with Gov. Noem’s vision to have all nine tribal nations represented in the Capitol rotunda, as each tribal flag represents sovereignty, culture, identity, and self-governance.”
The Flandreau Tribal president wished Noem luck ahead of her Senate confirmation hearing for secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. That hearing takes place Friday morning.
