Tribe says South Dakota governor not welcome on reservation

A Native American tribe has told South Dakota's Republican Gov. Kristi Noem she's not welcome on one of largest reservations in the country after she led efforts to pass a state law targeting demonstrations such as those in neighboring North Dakota that plagued the Dakota Access oil pipeline.

"I am hereby notifying you that you are not welcome to visit our homelands," Oglala Sioux President Julian Bear Runner said in a letter to Noem following a 17-0 Tribal Council vote on Wednesday approving the action. He told Noem that if she ignores the directive "we will have no choice but to banish you" from the the Pine Ridge reservation.

Banishment is a formal tribal process in which a person can be barred permanently from the reservation. Violations can result in fines or even jail time, but Bear Runner spokesman Chase Iron Eyes said the tribe's goal is to show its unhappiness with Noem and that "no one wants to go through the steps to actually banish a sitting governor."

"The notion of banishment has not been considered by the Tribal Council," he said. "''The president just wanted to make the letter as clear as possible as to what the options might be."

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