Lakota Journalist Waiting to See Sutton and Noem Prove Native Cred

Oglala Lakota journalist Brandon Ecoffey isn’t endorsing a gubernatorial candidate yet. He says he wants to give Billie Sutton and Kristi Noem both more time to prove that they are serious about improving relations between Native people and the State of South Dakota:

Billie Sutton has made plenty of inroads in to our communities, he has shown up at the Oglala Lakota nation Powwow, and he has granted several interviews with Native media outlets. I have even seen him at an anti-meth summit hosted by our people in Rapid City….

Kristi Noem on the other hand needs to show us that she is more than just talk. Most importantly she needs to demonstrate a better understanding of the special political relationship that tribal nations have with the federal government. Her aw enforcement bill that she touted was created with good intentions, but in the era of Trump we are very protective of our sovereign rights. To win the Indian vote, Noem simply needs to come out and say that she is willing to build a new and unprecedented relationship with the tribal nations in this state. This would entail bringing on tribal citizens to help guide her policies towards our communities. We do not want another sell-out appointed to state office. For Noem to actually bring in somebody that our people trust is not difficult, and it would go a long ways towards showing us that Noem is not Trump [Brandon Ecoffey, “SD Gubernatorial Race Will Come Down to Native Vote,” Lakota Country Times, 2018.08.16].

I don’t know, Brandon: Noem’s had eight years in Washington to show she’s more than just talk. She’s had two years since the GOP’s total surrender to fascism to show she’s not Trump. It hasn’t happened yet; even if she mouths the magic words you’re looking for now, could you really trust a campaign-season conversion?