The Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe, the smallest in the state, also congratulated the GOP governor on her nomination to be Trump's homeland security secretary.

The tension between both parties goes back to comments Noem made in 2024 accusing tribal leaders of enabling drug cartels

The South Dakota governor was banished by all nine Native American tribes in South Dakota over comments she made last spring.

A year after all native tribes in South Dakota banned Republican Governor Kristi Noem from their reservations, one is welcoming her back with open arms. On Tuesday, the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe voted to rescind Noem’s “banishment,

Gov. Kristi Noem was cut off from entering a wide swath of tribal lands in South Dakota early last year after making public comments that tribal leaders were catering to drug cartels on their reservations.