(NewsNation) — A South Dakota lawmaker is calling out Gov. Kristi Noem following her recent comment about Native American tribes that have led to her being banned by most tribes in the state.
South Dakota Sen. Shawn Bordeaux said on “NewsNation Now” that the governor seems to be more interested in criticizing tribal leaders than working with them.
“(Noem) has a history of refusing to come to talk to a committee that was mostly made up of non-Native American legislators. So I’m thankful to the tribes for making a stand against her racist remarks,” said Bordeaux.
Relations between the governor and the tribes have been strained since she took office in 2019, but her comments, including saying tribal leaders benefit from drug cartels, have caused the tribes to vote to ban her in recent months.
Bordeaux acknowledged some tribal areas struggle with drug addiction and illegal narcotics sales are an issue but “not to the degree that (Noem) claims.”
“She went way out of bounds in saying this,” said Bordeaux.
He said the governor is using the rhetoric to bolster her case for sending the National Guard to Texas.
“She needs to work with tribes, and she needs to help the tribes by not taking a little bit of information that she gets and using it against us,” said Bordeaux. “That helps her to make her claim that millions of South Dakota tax dollars need to be spent in Texas.”
Bordeaux said communities and local leaders would prefer the governor to focus on issues facing South Dakotans.
“Work is needed,” he said. “I barely got off my county road here yesterday. We’ve got a lot of work that needs to be done by the National Guard and our communities in South Dakota.”