Oglala Sioux Tribe will not attend South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem's tribal crisis summit

After all nine South Dakota tribes unified over the banishment of Gov. Kristi Noem, one tribe is again asking for solidarity as it takes a stance against the state's highest elected official.

Oglala Sioux Tribe President Frank Star Comes Out announced in a Thursday press release the tribe will not take part in a Tribal Public Safety Crisis Summit scheduled June 24 in Pierre.

The summit event falls before Victory Day, a tribal holiday celebrating the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ's defeat of U.S. Army forces at the Battle of Little Bighorn.

"This is nothing more than a divide and conquer tactic on the part of Gov. Noem to deflect from her false accusations that a crisis exists because drug cartels are operating on the Sioux reservations," Star Comes Out stated in the release.

Noem announced the summit Tuesday, one week after all nine Dakota, Lakota and Nakota tribes in South Dakota formally endorsed the second-term governor's banishment.

Noem invited both elected leaders and law enforcement officials at the federal, state, local, and tribal levels to take part in the summit, according to a May 28 press release.

“We solve problems best when we work together and communicate – I hope that this Summit will accomplish that,” Gov. Kristi Noem wrote. “Drug addiction, violent crime, and the trafficking of women and children have all risen on tribal reservations throughout the country, including in South Dakota. Drug cartels and their affiliates are causing many of these challenges. We all want what’s best for our tribal communities, and I hope this conversation can get the ball rolling towards real solutions.”

The tribe's recent ire toward Noem stems from a Jan. 31 emergency joint session during the state's annual legislative session. In an 18-minute speech, the governor described to state lawmakers "the Texas-Mexico border" was under an "invasion" by migrants. She then alleged "the cartels are using our reservations to facilitate the spread of drugs throughout the Midwest."

Noem ramped up her rhetoric in March when she suggested without evidence tribal leaders were "personally benefiting" from the cartels during a town hall event in Winner. She later called on the tribes to "banish the cartels" in an April press release.

But Star Comes Out disputed Noem's allegations of the cartel presence on his tribal lands in the release. The tribal president said his office met with an assistant U.S. attorney in Rapid City, who told them "there are no drug cartels on our reservation."

"[Noem] needs to clean up her own backyard," Star Comes Out fired back in writing. "Lack of state law enforcement in South Dakota is actually contributing to the importation of illegal drugs on our reservations."

Noem reiterated to reporters in a mid-May press conference a quote Star Comes Out said in front of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee Dec. 20, in which he told committee members "The State of South Dakota lacks criminal jurisdiction over Indian Country crimes; thus, in reality, the sole provider of law enforcement services to the Oglala Sioux Tribe is the federal government."

Frank Star Comes Out also called out a lack of federal support, saying "Oglala currently lacks the federally funded officers to follow up when serious crimes are reported and do not have the resources to collect evidence in a timely manner, many crimes simply go unprosecuted," according to a statement given to Rapid City-based newspaper Native Sun News.

However, Star Comes Out said in his Thursday release "the State of South Dakota and its Governor" are "intermeddl[ing]" with the tribe's internal affairs with her comments.

He also criticized Noem for "blaming the Biden Administration for this problem that has existed for decades, including under the previous Trump Administration and her own Administration."

"The tribes need to stay united on Noem's false accusations that the Mexican cartel are operating on the Sioux Reservation and not attend her summit," Star Comes Out wrote.

Noem also made disparaging remarks earlier this year against Native American parents during a town hall in Mitchell, saying their children "have no hope" in regard to education and parental involvement.

Because of this, Lower Brule Sioux Tribe Chairman Clyde Estes told the Argus Leader his tribe will also not attend the summit "until she apologizes to our children, their parents and the other tribes."

"I'm really mainly hopeful she can do that, so we can move forward in a good way," Estes said in a phone call.

Some tribes remain undecided on the matter. Yankton Sioux Tribe Secretary Courtney Sully said the tribe's leaders have yet to formally discuss the summit but added it could come up during their Tuesday council meeting.

The Argus Leader has reached out to the Governor's Office and is awaiting a response.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Oglala Sioux will not attend South Dakota Gov. Noem's crisis summit