PINE RIDGE RESERVATION, S.D. (KELO) — Several Native American tribes in South Dakota are calling on Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) to take more action during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Oglala Sioux Tribe president Julian Bear Runner sent a letter to Noem on Thursday.
“It makes no sense to put people at risk because you feel most people have common sense. That is an oversimplification of the threat posed by this disease,” Bear Runner wrote. “Things could not be more urgent for South Dakota’s tribal nations, especially.”
Bear Runner is calling on Noem to take stronger actions in the state.
Similar messages are being said to the north, at a council meeting on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation which is in both North and South Dakota.
“South Dakota is the state where this virus is so out of hand that there is no hope of controlling it. It’s going to just grow in that state because she [Noem] didn’t act,” said councilwoman Avis Little Eagle.
A Native American advocacy group is also starting an email campaign to protect the safety of the nearly 72,000 Native Americans living in South Dakota.
“For our communities, the elderly, and the immunocompromised, Noem’s refusal to act is governmental negligence,” said Case Iron Eye from Lakota People’s Law Project. “She’s costing lives. We need as many people as possible, right now, to help us wake her up.”
The governor previously has said she doesn’t see a scenario where a state-wide stay-at-home order would be issued.
KELOLAND News reached out to Noem’s office for a statement and will update this story when we receive a response.
Keep reading
Your Guide To
Coronavirus
KELOLAND News is covering the COVID-19 pandemic. This is your guide to everything you need to know to prepare. We also have the latest stories from across the globe feeding into this page.

LATEST STORIES
- Less than 5% of Minnesotans have received 1 vaccine doseMINNEAPOLIS – The number of Minnesotans who have received at least the first dose of the two-shot COVID-19 vaccine is nearing a quarter-million, or less than 5% of the population.
- COVID-19 in South Dakota: 185 total new cases; Death toll rises to 1,705; Active cases at 4,005PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — The deaths of nine people were reported in the latest COVID-19 case data from South Dakota Department of Health on Saturday.
- Winter in Minnesota featured on CBS Sunday MorningOn Sunday, video from KELOLAND Chief Photographer Kevin Kjergaard was featured in CBS Sunday Morning’s weekly segment “Do Nothing for Two Minutes”.