Asserting its sovereign status, one of the nation’s largest tribes has officially banned Immigration and Customs Enforcement from its 3,500-square miles.
Oglala Sioux Tribal president Frank Star Comes Out issued his proclamation following a tribal council session held Jan. 21. Members passed Resolution No. 26-04, which rejects a partnership proposal between OST and ICE. They also approved another motion banning ICE agents from coming onto the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
The OST proclamation also banned U.S. Border Patrol, citing its assistance to ICE with “unlawful conduct against Native people” in the Twin Cities. ICE operations in Minnesota have sparked nationwide furor following the recent shooting deaths of two unarmed people, Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
Four homeless members of the OST and one Standing Rock tribal member are among those reportedly detained by ICE as they continue their immigration crackdown.
Before becoming U.S. Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, former South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem was banished from all of the state’s reservations for making disparaging remarks about Native people. An OST official told Buffalo’s Fire that the ban on Noem from Pine Ridge remains in effect.
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