I’ve certainly dissed Governor Noem (R-SD) before, but I see she’s descending to a new low:
Leaders of a Sioux tribe in South Dakota on Friday refused a request by the governor to remove checkpoints on state and U.S. highways, arguing it must protect itself from the highly infectious novel coronavirus.
In a public response to Gov. Kristi L. Noem (R), Cheyenne River Sioux Chairman Harold Frazier wrote that the tribe would “regretfully decline” to move the checkpoints, adding that the reservation is an “island of safety in a sea of uncertainty and death.”
“I absolutely agree that we need to work together during this time of crisis, however you continuing to interfere in our efforts to do what science and facts dictate seriously undermine our ability to protect everyone on the reservation,” Frazier said. “Ignorant statements and fiery rhetoric encourage individuals already under stress from this situation to carry out irrational actions.”
The coronavirus pandemic has disproportionately affected Native American communities throughout the country, many of which have long grappled with a lack of hospitals, doctors and public health services. Rates of infection and death on some reservations are significantly higher than in the surrounding states, leading tribal leaders to take extreme steps to prevent the spread of the virus within their borders.
In letters to the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and the Oglala Sioux Tribe, Noem said she would take legal action if the checkpoints weren’t removed. She claimed they violated an April 8 memorandum by the Bureau of Indian Affairs that says South Dakota’s tribal governments must consult with the state before closing or restricting travel on the highways.
The tribes, which are in the western and southern parts of the state, have set up the checkpoints to limit travel to and from the reservations. According to guidelines from the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, residents and visitors can pass through the checkpoints only to complete “essential activities,” such as medical appointments or getting essential supplies.
A spokesman for the Oglala Sioux Tribe told local radio station SDPB there wasn’t legal merit to Noem’s request.
The tribes didn’t immediately respond to The Washington Post’s requests for comment on Saturday.
Soon after the announcement from the Cheyenne River Sioux, South Dakota reported 249 new confirmed cases, a record single-day increase. [WaPo]
Frazier’s wording is certainly provocative, but clearly his first responsibility is to tribal members residing on the tribe’s land, a group known to be vulnerable to disease, and I have to applaud his reaction. His suggestion that South Dakota is a sea of uncertainty and death may have more than one point, suggesting that South Dakota, since the invasion of the Europeans, has become a sea of death for the Indians, as well as a potential sea of death at the current time. However, I suspect that’ll be less true, given South Dakota’s low population density. I have not heard of South Dakota hospitals, and according to South Dakota’s Coronavirus news page, they aren’t.
Deaths in South Dakota are currently listed at 34. I found this interesting:
Minnehaha County is home to Sioux Falls, location of the Smithfields’ Foods plant that shut down due to mass infections, and to 29 of the 34 deaths so far identified with Covid-19. Those workers are in close proximity to each other at the plant, so this shouldn’t be surprising, but it’s worth noting.
And, remember, numbers are not trustworthy. All the experts that I’ve read agree that undercounting is certain. The Sioux Falls Argus Leader from yesterday notes:
The increase in positive tests comes a few days after the National Guard set up a testing site at Washington High School for Smithfield Foods employees and their families. More than 3,500 tests were taken at the site, and on Friday, the state announced the most positive results (239) since cases were announced.
That strongly suggests an undercount of infections, and a concomitant undercount of deaths related to Covid-19. If this is confirmed, it’s another data point in favor of judging the governor as being grossly incompetent. And, yet, Governor Noem wants the tribes to fall into line and open themselves up to carriers of a highly contagious and potentially fatal disease.
Ideology vs. reality. Which one will win? The Soviets found out the hard way. How about Noem?
