Kristi Noem, South Dakota Governor and Trump VP Contender, Is Barred by Tribes

The tribes barred the Republican governor from their reservations after she told lawmakers that Mexican drug cartels had a foothold there and were committing murders.

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Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota at a rally for former President Donald J. Trump in Dayton, Ohio, in March.

Four of South Dakota’s federally recognized Native American tribes have barred the state’s governor, Kristi Noem — a Republican whose name has been floated as a potential running mate for former President Donald J. Trump — from their reservations. The latest blocked Ms. Noem on Thursday.

Three of them barred Ms. Noem this month, joining another tribe that had sanctioned the governor after she told state lawmakers in February that Mexican drug cartels had a foothold on their reservations and were committing murders there.

Ms. Noem further angered the tribes with remarks she made at a town hall event last month in Winner, S.D., appearing to suggest that the tribes were complicit in the cartels’ presence on their reservations.

“We’ve got some tribal leaders that I believe are personally benefiting from the cartels being there, and that’s why they attack me every day,” Ms. Noem said.

The tribes are the Cheyenne River Sioux, the Oglala Sioux, the Rosebud Sioux and the Standing Rock Sioux. Their reservations have a combined population of nearly 50,000 people and encompass more than eight million acres, according to state and federal government counts. Standing Rock Indian Reservation, the third tribal area to have restricted Ms. Noem’s access, extends into North Dakota.

The tribes have accused Ms. Noem of stoking fears and denigrating their heritage when she referred to a gang known as the Ghost Dancers while addressing state lawmakers and said that it had recruited tribal members to join its criminal activities.

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