OST Bans Governor from Pine Ridge. Well, ok…

Pat Powers

The Oglala Sioux Tribe just banned Governor Kristi Noem from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation – one of the poorest places in America – because they didn’t like her support for a couple of pieces of legislation to make sure that State and County Governments didn’t get stuck with the bill if organized groups attempt to organize riots in the state against pipelines.

As noted in the Argus Leader:

The council approved on Wednesday that Noem is not to set foot on the reservation unless she rescinds support for her two bills aimed at Keystone XL pipeline protesters that would codify “riot boosting” in state law and allow the state to sue any person or organization for “riot boosting.” Noem announced the bills during the final week of this year’s session and the Legislature passed them within 72 hours.

and…

“This announcement from Oglala Sioux tribal leadership is inconsistent with the interactions she has had with members of the community,” Wileman said. “It’s unfortunate that the governor was welcomed by Oglala Sioux’s leadership when resources were needed during the storms, but communication has been cut off when she has tried to directly interact with members of the Pine Ridge community.”

Read the entire story here.

This tribal ban of the Governor is kind of like when states placed a ban on publicly funded or publicly sponsored travel to North Carolina because New York or California liberal muckety-mucks didn’t like the politics of that state, and wanted to make a media-posturing statement.

It really doesn’t affect the object of their shunning, but does a good job to punish their own residents.

40 thoughts on “OST Bans Governor from Pine Ridge. Well, ok…”

  2. If Noem isn’t affected, at least emotionally, from being told, nay, ordered, not to travel somewhere in the state where she’s governor, that says more about her than OST. And based on her track record so far I don’t think the residents will be any worse off without her PR visits.

    1. I think she’s fully able to “consider the source” and give this the level of concern it warrants–zero.

      Based only on my personal experience, if she were to hold an event on the rez chances are very good that very few residents would show up on time, or even by the end of the event if the duration was less than one hour. They’d show up 45-75 minutes late and fake offense that she didn’t wait around for them to arrive based on their interpretation of the proper time for such matters.

  3. I’ve said this many times, but these individuals think they are all high and mighty when they do things like this. I used to live out in that area and travel through the Pine Ridge at least twice a month and for the life of me they always claim they are worried about “Mother Earth” and the pollution potential of bad oil. They have no room to talk – they treat “Mother Earth” just plain poorly. The garbage and trash that lays around there would send any eastern liberal over the edge. They need to step up to the plate and clean up their own back yard before they start making statements or worrying about something beyond their control – my goodness they need an adult to give them some leadership there.

  5. A law that criminalizes free speech and the right to protest is unconstitutional.

    1. If you want your freedom of expression to include creating a public health hazard with feces and urine, conduct your protest in San Francisco, Portland, or Seattle, where they like that sort of thing. You can make YouTube videos of yourself taking a dump in the street and broadcast them all over the state. This will get your message across just as well.
      There are plenty of places you can hold a protest and make a horrible mess, but South Dakota isn’t one of them.

      1. Now that Noem’s banning has made national news we can expect people from across the country to show up and exercise their 1A rights. Anne, you think your comments are going to stop them? They won’t and neither will this new law. Americans have the right to peacefully protest.

        1. Along with the right to peacefully protest comes the responsibility not to create a mess that my tax dollars have to clean up. It’s funny how the protestors of this pipeline we’re claiming to be protecting mother Earth while at the same time they created a pig sty on their mother! Actions belie their protestations.

          1. I completely agree. However, your words, Anne’s words and this new law is not going to stop the protesting from taking place. It happened in ND and the Indians will rally and many non-Indian liberals will join them. I often see people, in SF, with shirts protesting the pipeline.

            They’ll be supported by big money, probably linked with Soros and they will show up. They have rights, no matter what trash they leave behind. Many of the protesters already do nothing, why not go sit on a road and do nothing there?

            1. Yesterday on Greg Belfrage a caller stated that he had met some protestors at the Vivian rest stop last year, and they stated they were paid to protest. They had made enough money and were on their way home. These were not native American either. This type of protest is not a true protest…it is simply paying people to make a political statement. They might have a right to protest, but we who end up paying for any cleanup have a right too…to not get stuck with the bill. If they can’t behave, they can’t protest.

              1. This is not news to me. Yes, they are paid, just as Antifa has been paid. Some go for the cause, but most are there for just as you say, a political statement.

                It is unfortunate, but we as tax payers will be paying the bill. Just as we pay the bill for all the illegal aliens who take advantage of public education, health care, and food stamps.

                What can you do? Be like Anne and make some sort of statement on a blog? Wow, that’s really going to make a difference.

                1. Why did the Canadians vote against running the pipeline through Canada?

  6. The location of the pipeline is not on THEIR property so it is a non- factor for them. It is the rest of our state that then needs to be ” served and protected” on this issue.

    1. Do you know of any land owners who are against the pipeline being forced upon them? It’s possible some land owners may allow people to stay and stage their protest on their land.

    1. Would you be willing to give their land back as per treaties signed and broken by the US Government?

  9. I’d suggest that an even higher priority for this tribal council should be the welfare of their citizens. Curious which demographic they would point to, to show they’ve in some measure shown themselves to be responsible public servants. There are a lot of demographic measures, and I’d suggest they pick any two and show us how the tribal government has made a measurable difference in the condition of their people. If they can’t, speaks volumes

    1. Lee is right is his politically correct way. The Sinaloa cartel owns and runs Pine Ridge. From the tribal government to the police force and everything in between. Everyone knows it. The break down of the family and methamphetamine are destroying the Native American culture. El Chapo in, Governor Noem, out. People need to rise up against corrupt governments that keep their people oppressed and fearful.

      1. I made comments on this blog many, many months ago about the the cartel’s presence on the rez. I was ridiculed and told I didn’t have a clue. It was around the time I made comments about never taking our family to the MOA ever again. Hmmm… what happened a few weeks ago to the young boy who was innocently standing close to the third floor railing?

        I’ve also made comments about SF being a sanctuary city and what did we see happen the other day? Who was arrested in SF?

        Times they are a changing.

  10. I have just read news articles on them and the infestation of drugs on the reservation. I don’t typically don’t hang out with gang members. The gangs didn’t come into being until after Nixon declared the war on drugs.

      1. She is in Milwaukee Wisconsin trying to save the Constitution party. Probably not going to happen because I think they are a bunch of snowflakes that don’t want to offend anybody. If you are a party of not wanting to offend anybody well then how can you call yourself a Constitutional party…… I would never run on Constitution snowflake party.ticket I would register Libertarian or Independent.

      2. Yeh……she has a lot more guns than I do, and she keeps them loaded.

        1. Tara so if you were a Libertarian candidate you would advocate for legalizing all drug, prostitution, making , selling pipe bombs, eliminating all laws and regulations everywhere including the reservations?

          1. I wouldn’t go that far. lol. I don’t think Ron Paul is for selling pipe bombs and eliminating all laws and regulations.

  11. And I have read that the pipeline protestors are working, indirectly, for Warren Buffet who stands to lose a great deal if oil is transported by pipeline instead of rail.
    Follow the money and whoever it is who is paying them can foot the bill for cleaning up after them. If it turns out to be George Soros and Warren Buffet, fine. They got deep pockets. Why shouldn’t they pay?

    1. And the other side is probably working for the Koch brothers and big oil. Follow the $$$$$$$

      1. Tara, if the people building the pipeline can be held responsible for cleaning up after themselves, the people protesting the pipeline can be held to account, too.
        There are large financial interests opposing the pipeline, paying these protestors to be disruptive. The taxpayers do not need to foot the bill for the mess they make. Warren Buffet can pay.

        1. If it is going to be held on the rez or private property, the land owners should be responsible, not the state. Why does the Government have to make such a big deal out of it? Why does the state have to police someones property? Let them hire their own security.

          1. So if the protestors break into private homes, steal supplies, destroy construction equipment, and rustle cattle, the property owners shouldn’t call law enforcement, they should just take matters into their own hands?
            Maybe the next legislative session will legalize the shooting and dispersion of protestors by private citizens. That will save the taxpayers money!

        2. Where do you get all this super secret information, Annie? Are you a Russian influencer? Are you really the Maria Butina person posing as KM? Tell us your sources, Comrade.

          1. Anon at 7:51. Keep reading. Forbes Magazine. There’s big money at stake on both sides of the pipeline issue. The protestors aren’t there because they care deeply about the environment, if they did, they wouldn’t leave such a mess behind. They are only there for the money. Whoever is paying them needs to pay for the mess.

Comments are closed.