Gov. Noem wants to visit reservation that banned her

Letter requests meeting on Pine Ridge after unified calls for audit

(Joe Sneve/The Dakota Scout)

Gov. Kristi Noem wants to have a meeting with the leaders of the Native American reservation who banned her earlier this year.

In a letter to Oglala Sioux tribal leadership Thursday, Noem asks President Frank Star Comes Out to lift the ban on her coming to the reservation, and allow her to have a meeting there about shared points of concern — such as law enforcement on tribal lands and calls for audits of federal monies being sent to reservations.

“I am requesting the opportunity to come to Pine Ridge Reservation to meet with you, your tribal council, and your people,” Noem wrote. “Let’s have a candid discussion about the challenges that we’re facing and how to address them.”

Noem’s inquiry comes just days after members of the Oglala Sioux’s Tribal Council attempted to initiate their own audit of the housing authority on the reservation. Earlier that same day, the governor had called on federal officials to audit funds going to the tribes, to ensure they are have adequate funding for public safety.

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