South Dakota Searchlight
The state’s first law enforcement certification course focusing on tribal policing began Monday in Pierre with 11 tribal trainees.
The recruits from the Oglala and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes and the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate are joined by 12 trainees from non-tribal agencies in South Dakota for the 13-week course.
The course came about through a collaboration between Gov. Kristi Noem and Attorney General Marty Jackley. It’s meant to offer training closer to home for tribal police, who typically get 13 weeks of basic training in New Mexico through the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs.
“Providing consistent training for tribal, state, sheriffs and city police better ensures public safety across South Dakota,” Jackley said in a press release. “The relationships and trust formed during the training is extremely valuable.”
The 11 tribal recruits are two less than Jackley’s office previously announced. In response to South Dakota Searchlight questions, Jackley’s spokesman said two applications were “denied due to eligibility issues.”
Officers for tribal police departments already had the option to attend a regular basic training course in the state, but still had to complete another two weeks of training afterward with the BIA in New Mexico. The BIA has agreed to send trainers for the new course in South Dakota.
Other agencies helping with the training include the state Division of Criminal Investigation, Highway Patrol and Department of Game, Fish and Parks, along with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Dakota.
The course emerged amid long-running discussions of tribal law enforcement needs that grew more heated this winter when Noem began repeatedly alleging that tribal areas are especially vulnerable to Mexican cartel drugs and violence.
Some of Noem’s comments since her Jan. 31 speech on an “invasion” at the U.S.-Mexico border have drawn the ire of tribal leaders. The governor has asserted that some tribal leaders are personally benefiting from cartels.
Elected leaders in all nine South Dakota tribes have voted to ban Noem from their lands. The tribes have pointed to her comments about cartels, as well as allegations she made about Native American children lacking hope and having negligent parents.