South Dakota Governor Noam Sounds Alarm

by Mustang

At the end of January 2024, Governor Kristi Noam of South Dakota delivered a speech to the state legislature directing attention to the U.S.–Mexico border as a war zone controlled by Mexican drug cartels.  Her claim is absolutely valid.  She also called attention to the fact that drug cartels are also using South Dakota Indian reservations as a home base for drug distribution.  Noam argued that it is time for responsible governments to act.  “So, why am I standing here in front of you today?  Because as we move forward to take action, I want us to be united, and I want you to be informed.”

During her remarks, Gov. Noam made multiple references to the ravages of fentanyl and other drugs in South Dakota’s reservation communities — drugs she said got there thanks to Mexican drug cartels.  She offered to support the Oglala Sioux in a lawsuit filed against the federal government for failing to adequately address public safety on the reservation. 

Noam said, “Murders are being committed by cartel members on the Pine Ridge Reservation and in Rapid City, and a gang called the Ghost Dancers are affiliated with these cartels.  They have been successful in recruiting tribal members to join their criminal activity.”

Gov. Noam added that the impact on the state’s reservation proves that “every state is now a border state.”

Activist Indians are in denial, of course.  Still, their protests of Gov. Noam’s remarks ring hollow, given proof that Central American gangsters kidnapped an FBI agent while they were trafficking drugs on the Pine Ridge Reservation in 2022.

Oglala Sioux member and state representative Peri Pourier (D-Rapid City) appeared upset by Noam’s several references to drug activity on the reservation.  She claimed that Gov. Noam’s remarks were disingenuous and highly respectful.  Pourier was joined by the Oglala Sioux Tribe Treasurer, Cora White Horse, who told South Dakota Searchlight that the only “Ghost Dancers” group was a collective of motorcyclists who attend memorials.  White Horse said, “She [Noam] claimed that the cartels are in the reservations and are being hidden here or whatever, but they’re not.”

But is it White Horse who’s being disingenuous?  The second-highest (per capita) prison population in the United States involves Native Americans.  The fact is, it is not only possible but likely that (some) Native Americans are in league with their kindred spirits in Mexico.  The United States is a common enemy.

In any case, as proof that White Horse protests too much, we find a 2006 report by The National Congress of American Indians titled “Methamphetamine in Indian Country: An American Problem Uniquely Affecting Indian Country.  Then, a November 5, 2009 article in the Wall Street Journal reported, “Mexican Pot Gangs Infiltrate Indian Reservations in the U.S.”  On May 11, 2015, AZPM PBS reported, “Drug Cartels Target Indian Country and Vulnerable People.”  On May 16, 2019, ABC News reported, “On tribal land along the US-Mexico border, drug and human smuggling corrupt ancient culture.”

One must wonder how much kickback high-ranking Washington officials get from this disaster. 

This video happens to be in North Dakota, and the story is the same.