S.D. tribes say they're 'trapped in a house on fire' — fighting Covid while governor lets it rage

Erik Ortiz
Wed, November 25, 2

In the early weeks of the pandemic, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in South Dakota enacted drastic measures to fend off the spread of the coronavirus across its stark and sprawling prairie land.

The tribe installed checkpoints in April on roadways cutting through the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation to limit drivers without official business — part of a robust contact tracing program.

"We are doing this to save our residents, their lives," tribal Chairman Harold Frazier told NPR in May, when there was just one case of Covid-19 on the reservation, where about 12,000 people reside.

Even as case numbers stayed low, tribal officials imposed a mask mandate over the summer and rolled out mass testing events. And after South Dakota logged a record number of infections this month, Frazier on Monday began a 10-day lockdown of Eagle Butte, the remote town where the tribe's headquarters are located.

IMAGE: Harold Frazier (Cliff Owen / AP file)

The efforts are in sharp contrast to how South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has overseen the pandemic in her state of nearly 885,000 residents.

Noem, a Republican, has avoided statewide mask mandates, lockdowns and the closing or restricting of businesses and churches. She said in a message last week that "we won't stop or discourage you from thanking God and spending time together this Thanksgiving" — a lenient message compared to those of the leaders of most other states, who have enforced curfews, stay-at-home orders and restrictions on indoor gatherings in the face of a surge in case numbers nationwide.

Noem has also criticized the checkpoints set up by the Cheyenne River Sioux, as well as other Native American tribes in the state. In May, she asked the Trump administration to help intervene in a compromise to allow checkpoints on tribal roads but not state and federal ones within reservations.

Tribal members and other Indigenous-led groups in South Dakota say the lack of sweeping action — and the overt displays of opposition — on the part of state and some local officials stand to undermine their tribal sovereignty and attempts to protect their people during an intensifying public health crisis.

While the overall number of new Covid-19 infections has eased in recent days after it hit a record of more than 2,000 positive cases on Nov. 12, South Dakota this week still has among the highest rates of positivity and per capita deaths in the country, according to data from the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"It's like we're trapped in a house on fire, and we're doing our best to put it out," said Remi Bald Eagle, a Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe spokesman. "We see the firetrucks coming in the form of a vaccine, and we're wondering if it will get here in time before the fire burns us to death."
A disproportionate effect

The Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation has had more than 1,100 cases of Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, with at least 13 deaths, tribal health officials say.

Statewide, Native Americans have been the hardest hit of any ethnic or racial group: While they make up only 9 percent of the population, they represent 14 percent of all cases and 15 percent of all deaths, according to Johns Hopkins' data.

Bald Eagle said many tribal members were previously diagnosed with underlying health conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease, and had limited access to health care on the reservation, which is partly in one of the most impoverished counties in the country.

The tribe has scrambled to set up makeshift beds and units, some of them in hotels and bingo halls, to supplement the eight hospital beds at the Cheyenne River Health Center, an Indian Health Services facility. The closest large hospitals, in Rapid City and in Bismarck, North Dakota, are two to three hours away, and health care professionals in South Dakota have warned of an overburdened health system.

A disturbing disconnect has also emerged among some patients. A South Dakota emergency room nurse's tweets went viral this month after she said she had encountered people dying of Covid-19 who didn't believe the virus was real.

Bald Eagle said tribes have a lot to lose if they ignore the science or take a hands-off approach, as the state has largely done.

"Some of those who died were our elders," he said. "They're some of our magnificent treasures. When they die, they take with them some of our language and our culture and our heritage, and we won't get that back."

IMAGE: Gov. Kristi Noem (Al Drago / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The governor's office responded by referring to Noem's remarks at a news conference last week in which she encouraged hand-washing and social distancing.

"I've consistently said that people that want to wear masks should wear masks, and people that don't shouldn't be shamed because they choose not to," Noem said.

In a statement, the South Dakota State Medical Association said it supports a statewide mask mandate: "Masks work to decrease the risk of infection for everyone."
Checkpoint dispute

Tension has been escalating between tribes in South Dakota and Noem since the checkpoints went up.

In June, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe sued the federal government alleging that ever since Noem's plea for the White House's help, the Trump administration has abused its power by coercing the tribe to end its Covid-19 response plan, including its checkpoints.

The coercion included "threatening both monetary penalties and forcible dismantling of the Tribe's law enforcement program," the complaint alleges.
 Cheyenne River Sioux safety checkpoint

 (Chairman Harold Frazier, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe)

Noem has said that South Dakota has rights that allow residents and travelers to access roadways and that the federal government has "an interest in interstate commerce," as well. But the tribe argues that it has jurisdictional powers over the state, and a 1990 appeals court ruling dictates that the state doesn't have control over roadways that cut through Native lands without tribal consent.

The lawsuit continues, and the tribe plans to respond in the coming days to the federal government's request to dismiss the case, said Nicole Ducheneaux, a tribal member and attorney. In the meantime, the tribe's nine checkpoints remain up.

"We are unspeakably vulnerable, and the state that surrounds us and the federal government that is supposed to protect us have decided to elevate a petty political agenda over human life," Ducheneaux said. "In the broader scheme of things, it was not so long ago that my people witnessed catastrophic disease and death that decimated our population, destabilized our society and almost wiped us out. If it were not for our sovereign powers of self-government, we would be at the mercy of Donald Trump and Kristi Noem, which would be a disaster of potentially existential proportions for our people."

A spokesman for the Interior Department, which is named in the suit, said tribal leaders had to follow federal regulations shared in early April about what steps to take to restrict access to or close roadways within reservations.

The federal government seeks to have the tribe's suit dismissed, in part because, it said, the checkpoints were operating with "unlawfully deputized individuals who did not have the required background investigations and/or basic police training."
Camp crackdown

The worsening pandemic has led other Native American groups in South Dakota to spar with local governments.

In October, police in Rapid City, the state's second-largest city, ordered the dismantling of an outdoor settlement — called Camp Mniluzahan — where Native Americans struggling with substance abuse and other hardships were provided shelter and food.

Police cited five of the volunteers, known as Creek Patrol, with obstruction and resisting arrest. A sixth person utilizing the camp was also cited. City officials said the camp was erected without proper permits in an area considered a flood zone. The camp has since moved from public property to land jointly owned by the Oglala, Rosebud and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes.

Rapid City Mayor Steve Allender said he didn't endorse the camp, and he hinted at the tensions last month.

"Every conversation about the homeless in the last month has been peppered with phrases like 'stolen land' and 'treaty violations' and 'getting land back' and that sort of thing," Allender said, according to NBC affiliate KNBN of Rapid City. "And so it appears that there's something much larger at hand than simply seeking shelter for the homeless."

Mark Tilsen, a Creek Patrol volunteer and member of the Oglala Lakota, said the lack of adequate social services or support from the local government underscores how Native Americans have historically had to cope with insufficient resources.

The camp's new location, which provides Covid-19 testing, helps 30 to 60 people daily, Tilsen said.

"We're essentially banding together to solve our problems as they come up," Tilsen said, crediting the efforts of previous generations of Native volunteers and activists. "We are lucky that we have found a way that the city cannot interfere with our work."

Natalie Stites Means, a director of the local Meals for Relatives program for Native American families affected by Covid-19 and a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, said she worries that the disparate impact of the coronavirus on Indigenous communities is only going to worsen in the coming weeks because of lax attitudes. There is already a waiting list for families in need of food assistance, and Means counts on volunteers to help cook and transport meals.

"I'm not counting on Noem's administration to have the chops to do anything," Means said. "We're on our own."

mniluzahancreekpatrol

Our relatives who were arrested by the RCPD the night of Oct. 16th, for remaining in ceremony and taking a stand in defiance of ongoing state violence towards unsheltered relatives, will have court on Dec. 15th.

In preparation, we are seeking donations specifically for legal funds. @ndncollective has offered 15k; we are inviting you all, who have offered generous and consistent support to us, to match this amount so we can ensure that all legal expenses are covered. Please share and offer what you can. Lila pilamayapi.

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Checkpoint Closure By South Dakota Governor An Attack On Tribal Sovereignty

By: Jen Deerinwater | May 16, 2020

South Dakota’s Republican Governor Kristi Noem publicly issued a letter to the Cheyenne River (CRST) and Oglala Sioux Tribes (OST) on May 8 ordering them to remove health checkpoints on roads crossing their reservations but did not directly deliver it to OST—“a sign of “disrespect,” according to OST President Julian Bear Runner.

The letter, which was dated May 8, was never actually received by Bear Runner, he explained during a recorded response to Noem. He learned of Noem’s letter through news reports and social media.

He went on to say that it’s abnormal for the state to not notify the tribe and called it “a sign of disrespect for a sovereign nation or another government agency.”

A Bureau of Indian Affairs April 8 memorandum explained that state and U.S. roads couldn’t be closed on the reservations. Those not residing on the Pine Ridge reservation who aren’t providing essential services are advised to pass straight through, Bear Runner explained. No roads have been closed.

The checkpoints were put in place as a way to control and track the spread of COVID-19 on the reservation. Everybody who works at the checkpoints on the CRST reservation are deputized under the tribal government. They ask anyone entering and exiting the reservation a series of health related questions. All essential business is permitted to cross the reservation.

CRST Chairman Harold Frazier stated in a letter in response to Noem “we will not apologize for being an island of safety in a sea of uncertainty and death.”

The Rosebud Sioux Tribe have also instituted checkpoints on their roads. They’re currently under tribal government enforced lockdown until 6:00 a.m. CST on May 17. The OST ended a three day lockdown on May 13.

Noem has claimed the checkpoints on state and federal highways prevent essential services from making their way to areas in need. The South Dakota Retailers Association also claims that some retailers were turned away at the CRST checkpoints. The CRST has denied this.

Only those not providing essential services were asked to go around the CRST reservation.

“Well over 90% of commercial businesses with truckers or supplies coming in, most of them already have travel permits,” Joye Braun, member of the CRST and an organizer with the Indigenous Environmental Network, told TRNN. “They show their card and they’re waved through.”

Under the Fort Laramie Treaties of 1851 and 1868 the CRST and OST have the right to restrict who passes through their lands. These are the same treaties that the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe cited when fighting the construction and flow of oil in the Dakota Access Pipeline. The U.S. government has broken every treaty it has signed with tribal nations, but a 1990 8th Circuit Court of Appeals case ruled that no state has jurisdiction over highways running through Native lands without tribal consent.

On May 10, a bipartisan group of seventeen South Dakota legislators sent a letter to Noem challenging the governor’s claims regarding the checkpoints and sovereignty.

“Your statement that Tribal governments do not possess the ability to establish checkpoints within the boundaries of their homelands is not accurate,” the letter said. “The Legislature has not passed any bill stating as such, nor does the State of South Dakota have the authority to enforce State law within the boundaries of a Reservation.”


The letter went on to say “We do not wish to be party of another lawsuit that will ultimately cost the people of South Dakota more money.”

A representative from Governor Noem’s office told TRNN they haven’t initiated any legal action at this time, but hopes that the CRST and OST are “amenable” to the plans laid out in letters sent to the CRST on May 12 and OST on May 13. They state that tribal checkpoints should be removed from U.S. and state highways, but checkpoints on tribal or Bureau of Indian Affairs roads are acceptable: “tribal interaction with these travelers at checkpoints is unlawful and could actually increase the risk of spreading the virus.” Noem continued, “to be clear, the state has no objection to tribal checkpoints on BIA/tribal roads.

The governor’s office told TRNN that they believe the U.S. government has jurisdiction over the state and U.S. highways that cross the reservation and that OST and CRST need to work with the federal government and the state to create a plan that is amenable to both sides. Both CRST and OST state that they sent letters to Noem’s office explaining their checkpoint system when it began, but they never received a reply.

Regarding the RST checkpoints, Noem has been in contact with the RST, but gave TRNN no other information.

Former U. S. Senator Byron Dorgan defended tribal sovereignty in a May 13 press release from the Center for Native American Youth, where he serves as a founder and chairman for the CNAY Advisory Board.

“In the absence of an effective national testing program in the U.S., I believe the tribes have every right to be concerned about people coming to their reservation who could spread the deadly virus,” Dorgan wrote. “As a former U.S. Senator, I’ve seen firsthand that state and federal governments have not demonstrated a willingness to spend the time or resources to protect tribal communities. Tribal officials have a right to do things that are necessary to protect themselves.”

South Dakota is one of only a few states that did not issue a stay-at-home order. Since non-essential businesses have reopened there has been a spike in confirmed COVID-19 infection rates. As of May 14, The New York Times reports that South Dakota had 3,792 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 43 deaths. May 7-9 saw a large spike in contraction rates. Pennington County, directly north of Oglala Country and home of the OST, and near the CRST reservation, has been especially hard hit with cases doubling every six days.

The rates of infections and deaths within tribal nations have skyrocketed due to the ongoing legacy of settler colonialism and racism. The U.S. government has a trust and treaty responsibility to provide a variety of services, such as the Indian Health Services, to Native nations and people. However, chronic underfunding has led to astronomically high rates of preventable illnesses and deaths. While the well being of Native people varies across tribal nations and communities, the situation is particularly dire for the OST; 97% of those on the Pine Ridge reservation live in poverty. The life expectancy is only 48 for men and 52 for women.

The Navajo Nation resides on the largest reservation and is larger than West Virginia. Much of the reservation lacks basic infrastructure such as roads and running, clean water. They now have the third highest per capita rates of confirmed COVID-19 infections in the U.S.

The first confirmed deaths in Alaska and Oklahoma were Native people and the first death in the Bureau of Prisons, Andrea Circle Bear, was a Native woman who gave birth while on a ventilator. Coupled with the lack of tests, many Native people with COVID-19 aren’t even being counted as American Indian or Alaska Native and are instead are counted as “other”, leaving the community without the actual rates of contractions and deaths across the U.S., as 71% of AI and AN people live in urban areas making data collection outside of Native healthcare of particular concern.

These deaths represent the over five hundred years of genocide that the Indigenous people of these lands still suffer. Being no stranger to pandemics, many Native ancestors didn’t survive the smallpox blankets or the 1918 Spanish flu. In an April press release the Zuni Pueblo said they’re facing extinction due to COVID-19. The state and federal governments lack of appropriate response to the COVID-19 crisis is a form of genocide.

In March, the Seattle Indian Health Board requested COVID-19 tests, supplies, and personal protective equipment, but were instead sent body bags and toe tags.

Poverty is a substantial barrier to many of the activities, such as social distancing and hand washing, to control the rates of contraction for Native people. In March, the federal government gave two $40 million payments to the Center for Disease Control to distribute for Indian Health Services, tribal-run health centers, and urban Indian health centers. The CDC sat on the money instead of immediately disbursing it. The federal government only just began this month releasing some of the $8 billion appropriated to tribal nations under the CARES Act.

In a press conference on May 14, South Dakota Secretary Malsam-Rysdon announced the state would begin mass testing that would include tribal governments. Testing will begin with the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate nation whose reservation is in both North and South Dakota. Despite this, some tribal members don’t trust Noem.

“It’s really important to go back and look at the history of Kristi Noem,” Braun stated. “She doesn’t like Indian people…she wants to get rid of the reservations.”

At the heart of this situation is the inherent right to tribal sovereignty and for tribal nations and their people to quite literally, survive: Tribal nations are attempting to defend their people and save lives. Tribal nations are not merely tribes, but are sovereign nations with the inherent right to self-governance and should have total jurisdiction over matters on their lands. They don’t truly exist in America, but rather are their own nations, their own countries. The U.S. is a foreign entity.

“The Oglala Band is ready to stand against foreign intrusion into our daily lives,” Bear Runner said.

This story is made possible by a grant from the R&M Lang Foundation in support of reporting by and for indigenous communities.

S.D. Gov. Kristi  Noem signs hemp and other bills, but says budget in doubt

MARCH 27,2020

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Gov. Kristi Noem on Friday signed 15 bills that allocate millions of dollars to South Dakota programs, including industrial hemp, but offered no guarantee on whether the funding would remain after the state reworks its budget in light of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Noem said the budget allocations likely depend on how much money the state gets from the federal government in a stimulus bill. The bills give millions of dollars to an industrial hemp program, repairing abandoned natural gas wells, a veteran’s cemetery, a School of Health Sciences building at the University of South Dakota and expanding broadband services to rural communities.

“I’m signing these 15 bills with one caveat — we may need to come back in June and make drastic changes to both the current budget and next year’s fiscal year budget,” Noem said in a statement.

In the 15 days since the Legislature finalized the state budget, the state’s economic outlook has changed drastically due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Lawmakers will meet via teleconference on Monday to consider action on the four bills the governor has vetoed. Noem is also asking them to act on a series of emergency bills to address the coronavirus crisis.

---30---

FASCISM

South Dakota Supreme Court Kills Recreational Marijuana Law Approved by Voters

The ruling is a win for Republican Gov. Kristi Noem, who directed the state to pay for the legal fight against the voter-backed amendment.


A worker looks through a bag of marijuana that will be used to make marijuana infused chocolate edibles at Kiva Confections on January 16, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

ANDREA GERMANOS

COMMONDREAMS

November 24, 2021

The South Dakota Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a lower court's ruling in striking down a voter-approved measure that would have legalized recreational marijuana.

"Legalization opponents... are now petitioning the courts to overturn the will of the people."

In a statement explaining its 4-1 ruling, the court argued that Constitutional Amendment A—which passed by an eight-point margin last year in a state-wide referendum vote last year—was invalid because it dealt with more than one subject and thus ran afoul of the state constitution.

In addition to addressing recreational pot, the measure also had provisions regarding hemp and medical marijuana.

"As a result of the constitutional violation, the court has declared the amendment invalid," the judges said.

Matthew Schweich, campaign director for South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws, which led the campaign in support of Amendment A, called the ruling "extremely flawed."

The ruling, according to Schweich, "states that Amendment A comprised three subjects—recreational marijuana, medical marijuana, and hemp legalization—and that South Dakotans could not tell what they were voting on when voting for Amendment A." But Schweich rejected that finding as "a legal stretch and one that relies on the disrespectful assumption that South Dakota voters were intellectually incapable of understanding the initiative."

Republican Gov. Kristi Noem, had backed the lawsuit against legalization and welcomed the supreme court's ruling.

The plaintiffs in the case are South Dakota Highway Patrol Superintendent Rick Miller and Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom. "Legal fees for Miller's role in challenging the amendment," the Sioux Falls Argus Leader previously reported, "are being paid for by the state of South Dakota at the order of Gov. Kristi Noem, who campaigned against the ballot measure leading up to the election."

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“Legalization opponents cannot succeed in the court of public opinion or at the ballot box," Paul Armentano, deputy director of advocacy group NORML, said in a statement. "Thus, they are now petitioning the courts to overturn the will of the people. Whether or not one supports marijuana legalization, Americans should be deeply concerned by this trend and by the outcome of this case."

Fifty-four percent of South Dakota voters approved the amendment last November. Among other things, it would have allowed recreational use for those over 21, as well as the possession and distribution for up to an ounce of marijuana.

"We had full confidence that a majority of South Dakotans, if given the opportunity to vote on (marijuana), would realize the economic, health, and social justice benefits of marijuana reform. And they did," Drey Samuelson, political director for South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws, said at the time.

Legal challenges in the conservative state, however, quickly ensued.

Wednesday's decision upholds the February decision from Circuit Court Judge Christina Klinger.

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.

RIP

Henry Berg-Brousseau, Transgender Rights Activist, Has Died at 24

Alex Cooper
Wed, December 21, 2022 

Henry Berg-Brousseau

Trans rights activist Henry Berg-Brousseau, who worked to oppose anti-transgender legislation in his home state of Kentucky before going on to work with the Human Rights Campaign, died Friday at the age of 24.

His mother, Kentucky Democratic state Sen. Karen Berg, said Berg-Brousseau died by suicide.

In a statement posted on Twitter via Bluegrass Politics, Berg said that her son had spent his life “working to extend grace, compassion, and understanding to everyone, but especially to the vulnerable and marginalized.”

She added that “this grace, compassion, and understanding was not always returned to him” as a transgender man. The state senator called out the politicians who actively sought to marginalize her son because of who Berg-Brousseau was.

Berg said Berg-Brousseau had dealt with mental illness, “not because he was trans but born from his difficulty finding acceptance.”

He was born in Louisville, Ky., according to an obituary.

“While a student at Louisville Collegiate School, he advocated for the rights of transgender people by organizing a protest against gay conversion therapy, speaking to the Kentucky Senate Education Committee, and participating in other local and national causes. His speech to the committee was shared on John Oliver Tonight,” it said.

Berg-Brousseau went on to double major at George Washington University in political science and history and minored in Jewish studies.

In his work with the Human Rights Campaign, Berg said her son was acutely aware of the hateful rhetoric rising against transgender people in the country, adding that he saw that hate firsthand directed at his job. She said that in one of the final conversations she would have with her son he told her that he was concerned if he would be safe going out.

“The vitriol against trans people is not happening in a vacuum,” Berg wrote. “It is not just a way of scoring political points by exacerbating the culture wars. It has real-world implications for how transgender people view their place in the world and how they are treated as they just try to live their lives.”

Berg-Brousseau is survived by his mother, his father, and his sister, along with other family members.

“Losing Henry is an unfathomable loss to the Human Rights Campaign family. Henry was a light — deeply passionate, deeply engaged, and deeply caring. His colleagues will always remember his hunger for justice, his eagerness to pitch in, his bright presence, and his indelible sense of humor,” Kelley Robinson, the president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement.

Robinson noted his activist work as a teenager, having to fight for his own rights “far earlier than he should have had to.”

“He was brave,” she said.

She ended her statement by calling for justice for the transgender community.

“We must fight for our transgender family. We must celebrate his light, and honor him by continuing to fight for full equality for all,” Robinson said. “Our thoughts are with his parents, his sister, his entire family, and our whole community.”

If you are having thoughts of suicide or are concerned that someone you know may be, resources are available to help. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 is for people of all ages and identities.

Trans Lifeline, designed for transgender or gender-nonconforming people, can be reached at (877) 565-8860. The lifeline also provides resources to help with other crises, such as domestic violence situations.

The Trevor Project Lifeline, for LGBTQ+ youth (ages 24 and younger), can be reached at (866) 488-7386. Users can also access chat services at TheTrevorProject.org/Help or text START to 678678.

Transgender advocacy group plans to sue state over contract cancellation



John Hult
Thu, December 22, 2022

A transgender advocacy organization plans to sue the state of South Dakota for civil rights violations over Gov. Kristi Noem’s abrupt cancellation of a health care facilitation contract with the group.

Brendan Johnson, a former U.S. district attorney who works for the law firm Robins Kaplan, told South Dakota Searchlight that his firm will represent The Transformation Project at no cost in a civil action against the state.

Johnson said he plans to send the state a litigation hold this week, which is a legal notice of pending action that orders the expected defendant to preserve all records and correspondence related to a legal claim.

The group’s claim originates with the contract cancellation, Johnson said, but “it’s not a contract dispute.”

“This is about violating federal law, equal protection,” Johnson said. “You cannot discriminate against people on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. We believe that’s in violation of agreements between the state of South Dakota and the federal government that provided these funds.”

The Sioux Falls-based nonprofit was awarded about $136,000 in federal funds to hire and train a community health worker to help connect members of the LGBTQ community to physical and mental health care. The funds, dispensed by the state, were earmarked by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control for the hiring of community health workers to serve rural areas and marginalized communities.

For a story published on Friday, a conservative media outlet questioned Gov. Noem’s office about the contract. Through spokesman Ian Fury, Noem, a Republican, told the outlet that she does not support the group’s “radical ideology,” that she didn’t know about the contract, and that she would order a review of all state Department of Health contracts. More than 60 other community health worker contracts have been granted this year.

State Health Secretary Joan Adam announced her retirement through a governor’s office press release on Monday, three days after the news broke.

More:Transformation Project responds to South Dakota terminating contract for community health worker

The Freedom Caucus, a coalition of South Dakota lawmakers aligned with the Freedom Caucus of the U.S. House of Representatives, issued a statement Monday that praised Noem’s decision to cut the contract. It also called on the South Dakota attorney general to investigate The Transformation Project and Sanford Health, which is set to host a Gender Identity Summit next month, for “promoting child abuse.”

Johnson said his firm aims to show that the stated reasons for the contract cancellation do not align with the Noem administration’s actual motivations.

“The facts will show that The Transformation Project did not violate its contract with the state of South Dakota,” Johnson said. “This was a decision based on politics, not the law. We applaud the strength and dignity of the LGBTQ community, and we will aggressively defend their right to access health care and the vital services provided by The Transformation Project, including mental health and suicide prevention services.”

In the cancellation letter, Deputy Health Secretary Lynne Valenti said The Transformation Project had failed to hire a certified community health worker and had missed a required annual conference, among other violations. But The Transformation Project has said it hired a community health worker who is still employed by the group, and the required annual conference took place before the contract was awarded.

The group’s director, Susan Williams, said in an open letter that the group was in compliance with contract terms. It had received about $23,000 of contract funds before the Dec. 16 cancellation letter.

“We are also deeply concerned by the appearance that the termination of this contract stems not from our actions, but as a result of the population we serve,” Williams said.

Williams named the community health worker hired by the group to South Dakota Searchlight and noted that he’d completed his certification. On Tuesday evening, the group tweeted its congratulations to that employee along with a photo of staff and supporters. Two of the people were wearing hoodies from the Union Gospel Mission, a homeless shelter that had also been awarded funds for a community health worker, and whose director told South Dakota Searchlight this week that his “heart goes out” to the group over the dispute.

The Transformation Project also announced its intention to retain the employee despite the loss of funding. It has since set up a pledge website that asks the public to “raise $105,000 to cover the funding shortfall that was created.”

“These funds will help us to continue to develop a Community Health Worker program and allow our CHW to meet the needs of South Dakota members of the LGBTQ2S community across the state who experience disparate health outcomes,” the site said.

The group will not be charged legal fees for its action against the state, Johnson said, but taxpayers won’t avoid them.

More:Gov. Kristi Noem terminates contract for transgender advocacy group

“This is incredibly unfair to one of our most vulnerable populations in South Dakota,” Johnson said. “This will be a long and expensive fight. This is going to cost the state of South Dakota a great deal in legal fees.”

Fury, Noem’s spokesman, told South Dakota Searchlight on Tuesday that the state would be unable to comment on The Transformation Project situation because of the threat of litigation.

On Thursday morning, Fury reiterated that the state cannot comment for that reason.

On Monday, South Dakota Searchlight sent an email to Fury and Department of Health spokeswoman Kieran Tate, asking if three other community health worker contractors who’d inked deals around the same time as The Transformation Project had complied with each of the same contract requirements. Tate has not replied.

A spokesman for the South Dakota Attorney General’s Office, which typically serves as the state’s legal counsel in lawsuits against state agencies and officials, said the litigation hold had not been received as of Thursday morning.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Transgender advocacy group plans to sue state over contract cancellation

South Dakota political leaders condemn Nazi march at Capitol

Staff, South Dakota Searchlight
June 9, 2024

South Dakota's Governor Kristi Noem (MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

South Dakota political leaders are condemning a Nazi demonstration that happened Saturday on the Capitol grounds in Pierre.

The state Department of Public Safety said in a news release that a group attempted an unscheduled protest on the Capitol grounds, without a permit. The Highway Patrol asked the group to leave and the march “ended without incident,” according to the news release.

Images and video circulated online of about a dozen people dressed in red and black, with black masks covering their faces, carrying a Nazi flag and unfurling it on the steps of the Capitol. Images also surfaced of a similar march in Deadwood.

On her personal X (formerly Twitter) account, Gov. Kristi Noem wrote, “Nazis are not welcome here in South Dakota.

“We stand for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” she wrote. “We reject all hatred and Nazis.”

A known neo-Nazi leader, Christopher Pohlhaus, appeared to claim responsibility for the march when he shared Noem’s post on his own X account and said “we occupied your steps for the entire time we intended to be there.” According to the Anti-Defamation League, Pohlhaus is a former Marine turned tattoo artist and leader of the neo-Nazi “Blood Tribe.”

Other South Dakota political leaders also condemned the marches. U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds tweeted, “This is disgusting. This racist behavior has no place in South Dakota or anywhere.” U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson tweeted of the incident, “This is atrocious.”

The activity is part of a resurgence of in-person demonstrations among white nationalist, neo-Nazi and far-right reactionary groups throughout the country, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s latest annual report on hate and extremism.

“For the first time since 2018, these racist activists, who together make up what is known as the white power movement, turned out in droves, holding 191 demonstrations in 2022 and 143 in 2023,” the report says.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated with additional information several times since its initial publication.

South Dakota Searchlight is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. South Dakota Searchlight maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Seth Tupper for questions: info@southdakotasearchlight.com. Follow South Dakota Searchlight on Facebook and Twitter.

Indigenous history, culture cut

Update: The South Dakota working group's draft recommended including Oceti Sakowin stories in kindergarten to studying tribal banking systems in high school, but the state education department cut many of those recommendations

Chairman Harold Frazier of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe.

 (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

UPDATED:AUG 12, 2021

ORIGINAL:AUG 10, 2021
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Stephen Groves
Associated Press

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Teachers, educators and other South Dakota citizens charged with crafting new state social studies standards said Tuesday that Gov. Kristi Noem’s administration deleted many elements intended to bolster students’ understanding of Native American history and culture from their draft standards.

Members of the working group — appointed by the Department of Education to review and update the standards — said they were caught by surprise on Friday when the department released a document with significant changes. New standards are released every seven years. They said changes made to the draft they submitted in late July gave it a political edge they had tried to avoid, instead aligning with the Republican governor's rhetoric on what she calls patriotic education.

The working group's draft recommended including Native American culture from Oceti Sakowin stories in kindergarten to studying tribal banking systems in high school, but the department cut many of those recommendations.

The Forum News Service and South Dakota Public Broadcasting first reported the changes.

In this 2019 photo, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem gives a budget address to lawmakers at the state Capitol in Pierre, S.D. (AP Photo/James Nord, File)

“Here we are again; the Native population is not worthy of being taught,” said Sherry Johnson, the education director with the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate and a member of the working group. “I feel it’s important for all students to learn. This is how you combat racism and you build resiliency.”

She joined the group after trying unsuccessfully for years to get the state government to implement a greater emphasis on Indigenous history and culture in public schools. Johnson said she was one of two tribal members on the 46-member working group, but felt encouraged by the draft they submitted.

When the revised draft was released, she watched in real-time as Native American history was erased. The Department of Education cut in half the number of references to Indigenous Native Americans, tribal, or Oceti Sakowin — the Sioux Nation tribes located in the region.

“We don’t show up for great periods of time. It’s like we don’t exist,” she said.

Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Chairman Harold Frazier issued a strongly worded statement on Wednesday.

"Unfortunately, the bureaucrats and politicians who commissioned the workgroup gutted the portion of the curriculum regarding our Indigenous people," Frazier said. "Removing the important lessons of who we are, where we came from and why things are the way they are, robs every young mind of the necessary understandings to overcome the hurdles of conflict, genocide, and historical trauma."

The Department of Education said in a statement that it “relied heavily on the recommendations ” from the workgroup but that the proposed standards put a greater emphasis on learning about the experience of Native Americans in South Dakota than the previous set of standards.

“The department made certain adjustments before the release of the draft to provide greater clarity and focus for educators and the public," the department said. “The draft standards provide a balanced, age-appropriate approach to understanding our nation’s history, government, economy, and geography, including opportunities to teach about the experiences of all peoples.”

Rosebud Sioux Tribe President Rodney Bordeaux told KELO that he disagrees with the removal.

“All South Dakota citizens need to be taught what’s going on in the state and throughout the country,” he said. “You shouldn’t gloss over it — I think our citizens deserve better. They need to know the true history so they know what they’re dealing with.”

Rosebud Sioux Tribe President Rodney M. Bordeaux


NDN Collective, an Indigenous-led advocacy organization based in the state, responded "to the blatant erasure of Indigenous people."

“The consistent and active erasure of our people is demonstrative of a larger social and systemic issue of white supremacy, racism and clear lack of cultural proficiency that can only be addressed when we begin to be inclusive of the narratives that have been absent and excluded from our education system," Sarah White, NDN Collective director of Education Equity, said.

The response also included a statement from NDN Collective President and CEO Nick Tilsen.

Paul Harens, a retired teacher and another member of the working group, said the changes subverted their work. He said they worked hard to build a consensus on the draft and tried to make the standards “apolitical.”

“The new document takes sides,” he said. “They have turned it into a political football.”

While the preface submitted by the workgroup explained their purpose was to “prepare students to be active, aware, and engaged citizens of their communities, state, country, and world,” the Department of Education released an entirely new preface. It places more emphasis on the “framers of our nation’s constitution,” and references Noem's effort to create a state history and civics curriculum for K-12 students.

The revised preface states: “The founders of our nation emphasized the important role education played in equipping people for the knowledgeable practice of their responsibilities and the respectful enjoyment of their liberties, realizing the common good, and understanding other points of view and cultural beliefs are all equally protected.”

The department will hold public hearings on the proposed standards throughout the school year, and the Board of Education Standards will adopt the final standards in March. The standards are widely followed by school districts but are not mandatory.

Harens predicted the revisions from the Department of Education would stoke divisions at school boards across the state as they wade through a wider political debate on how history and racism are taught.

“All of a sudden you have a political agenda,” he said.

Indian Country Today contributed to this report. It has been updated to include more statements from tribes and Native organizations.

THE POST MODERN OLD WEST

Thousands of bikers heading to South Dakota rally to be blocked at tribal land checkpoints

Clampdown comes as fears mount that mask-free bikers headed to large gathering could spread coronavirus to tribal groups

Motorcyclists drive down Main Street during the 80th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally on Friday in Sturgis, South Dakota. Photograph: Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images

Thousands of bikers heading to South Dakota’s 10-day Sturgis Motorcycle Rally will not be allowed through Cheyenne River Sioux checkpoints, a spokesman for the Native American group said on Saturday.

The decision to prevent access across tribal lands to the annual rally, which could attract as many as 250,000 bikers amid fears it could lead to a massive, regional coronavirus outbreak, comes as part of larger Covid-19 prevention policy. The policy has pitted seven tribes that make up the Great Sioux Nation against federal and state authorities, which both claim the checkpoints are illegal.


'It's just madness': bikers throng South Dakota town despite Covid threat
Read more

A duty officer for the Cheyenne River Sioux told the Guardian on Saturday that only commercial and emergency vehicles will be let through the checkpoints onto reservation land.

A number of bikers had tried to enter but had been turned back, they said. Other reservations in the region, including the Oglala Sioux, were also turning away bikers that had attempted routes to Sturgis that pass through sovereign land.

Under Cheyenne River tribal guidelines non-residents driving non-commercial out-of-state vehicles are never allowed through the reservation. During the rally, non-commercial vehicles with South Dakota plates are also not allowed through.

The clampdown comes as fears mount that mask-free bikers visiting Sturgis for the largest gathering of people since the start of the Covid-19 epidemic could spread the virus to tribal groups that are already experiencing a rise in cases.

Oglala Sioux recorded 163 cases last week, while the Cheyenne River Sioux has seen cases rise to 79, according to the tribe’s website.

The restrictions come as local law enforcement reported a convergence of bikers from all directions. According to reports, many bikers heading for Sturgis expressed defiance at rules and restrictions that have marked life during the coronavirus pandemic.

While South Dakota has fared better than most states – it ranks 38th in Covid deaths per capita, according to a Reuters tally – cases have risen in recent weeks as hotspots move into the midwest.

During the rally, people are expected to cram bars and pack concerts with at least 34 acts playing. “Screw COVID,” read the design on one T-shirt on sale. “I went to Sturgis.”

I trusted my people, they trusted me, and South Dakota is in a good spot in our fight against COVID-19.

The #Sturgis motorcycle rally starts this weekend, and we're excited for visitors to see what our great state has to offer! https://t.co/UiHvaYviqa— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) August 6, 2020

Stephen Sample, who rode his Harley-Davidson from Arizona, told the Associated Press that the event was a break from the routine of the last several months.

“I don’t want to die, but I don’t want to be cooped up all my life either,” Sample, 66, said, adding that he had weighed the risks of navigating the crowds, but the same thrill-seeking that attracted him to riding motorcycles seemed to win out.

“I think we’re all willing to take a chance,” he said, but acknowledged the trip “could be a major mistake.”

South Dakota’s Republican governor, Kristi Noem, has supported holding the Sturgis rally, pointing out that no virus outbreak was documented from the several thousand people who turned out to see Donald Trump at Mount Rushmore last month.

The rally is marking its 80th anniversary and typically injects $800m into South Dakota’s economy. Meade county sheriff, Rob Merwin, said: “It’s going to be a lot of people and a lot of motorcycles all over the place. People are tired of being penned up by this pandemic.”


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On Friday, a worker at the event told the Guardian crowds seemed larger than in previous years and warned that Sturgis attendees were paying little heed to medical advice.

“I’ve not seen one single person wearing a mask,” said bartender Jessica Christian, 29. “It’s just pretty much the mentality that, ‘If I get it, I get it.’”

“In downtown Sturgis it’s just madness,” Christian added. “People not socially distancing, everybody touching each other. It’ll be interesting to see how that turns out.”

Over 60% of Sturgis 6,900 residents who responded to a city council survey in May said they wanted the rally canceled.

A month later, the council voted to move ahead, although it canceled all city-sponsored events associated with the rally and included measures such as hand-sanitizing stations. Sturgis mayor Mark Carstensen said throughout the pandemic, “the state of South Dakota has been the freedom state and the city of Sturgis has stayed true to that”.

THE RIGHT'S WAR ON HUMAN RIGHTS
S.D. transgender bans follow national legal groups' playbook

South Dakota has been a testing ground for anti-transgender legislation pushed by conservative groups since Gov.Kristi Noem signed a law banning transgender women and girls from competing in women's sports in 2021. 

File Photo by Tasos Katopodis/UPI | License Photo

Sept. 1 (UPI) -- Growing efforts to enact laws restricting transgender rights across the United States have largely been orchestrated by national conservative organizations determined to dismantle "gender ideology."

Few of the proposals originate within the states' borders as a result of concerns from constituents. Instead, many come from a playbook that includes advice on how to write the laws so they will hold up in court.

Representatives from the American Principles Project and the Alliance Defending Freedom -- two organizations pushing anti-transgender legislation in states including South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Texas, Montana, Florida and Tennessee -- told UPI in interviews about the overarching goal of their concerted effort: to block transgender people from protections under civil rights law.

APP policy director Jon Schweppe opposes "gender ideology," which he describes as "the belief that sex and gender are different. That gender is not immutable, it is something that you can determine for yourself."

"Ultimately, we believe this gender identity stuff is delusional," he said.

In contrast, a study from the University of Melbourne found gender-affirming therapy to be potentially lifesaving. Endocrinologist Brendan Nolan said people who begin hormone therapy earlier experienced significant reductions in gender dysphoria, depression and suicidal ideation.

The number of patients in the study that experienced suicidal ideation prior to the therapy was cut in half within the first three months after starting.

Outside influences

Among the first laws to target transgender youth in multiple states was a ban on transgender girls from women's sports.

South Dakota, where the GOP holds 94 of 105 legislative seats, has been a testing ground for such restrictions, said state Rep. Kadyn Wittman, D-Sioux Falls, becoming one of the first states to enact the women's sports laws in 2022.

Though Wittman was aware of the uphill battle she and her 10 Democratic colleagues faced in resisting a persistent wave of bills focused on banning items like gender-affirming healthcare, she was surprised to learn how much her Republican colleagues were coordinating with forces outside the state.

In March, more than 2,600 emails between state Rep. Fred Deutsch, R-Florence, other Republican lawmakers across the country and a slew of anti-transgender activists and organizations were leaked to Mother Jones.

"I was surprised by the breadth of the impact Rep. Deutsch had been having," Wittman told UPI. "The conversations he was having with individuals who could not be less connected to South Dakota. It read like a decades-long playbook on how to strip trans community members of their rights."

Wittman said these types of conversations between lawmakers and out-of-state organizations are "absolutely not" common.

The whistleblower in the email chain, former anti-transgender activist Elisa Rae Shupe, exposed the coordinated effort to enact copycat laws throughout the United States.

"When all of that came out, more people realized this is not coming from South Dakota," Rachel Polan, newly elected president of Sioux Falls Pride, told UPI.

"People in South Dakota really value individual liberty. That is fair to say no matter where they are on the political spectrum. Were it left up to a simple majority, I don't think South Dakota would be voting to ban trans people from sports or to make trans people use the bathroom of their assigned gender at birth."

Matt Sharp, director of legislative advocacy for the ADF, is one of the reported 18 people that Deutsch was coordinating with in 2019, mostly on efforts to keep transgender athletes out of women's sports.

His group was one of the first legal organizations to be involved in litigation on this issue, specifically in Soule vs. Connecticut Association of Schools in which four female high school track athletes challenged the state's policy to allow transgender girls to compete in girls' sports. The case was dismissed in 2021 and the court of appeals upheld that judgment.

"Since then, we have been receiving inquiries from legislatures that have wanted to see what we could do to protect fairness in their states," Sharp said.

The ADF uses its litigation expertise to advise state and federal lawmakers on bills, evaluate their viability and ensure the laws would hold up in court.

APP was also active on the transgender sports issue in South Dakota. The group found that it was important for Republicans to carefully frame their stance as "for women" rather than "against transgender athletes," Schweppe said.

South Dakota first attempted to pass a bill in 2021, but it was vetoed by Gov. Kristi Noem. She advised the legislature to rework the language to avoid conflict between the state's public universities and the NCAA. The following year, a reworked version of the bill was signed into law.

"I would point to South Dakota as a state we have had wild success in," Schweppe said.

Gender-affirming care

Sharp said the ADF has worked closely with many of the 22 states that have gender-affirming healthcare bans in effect.

"Alliance Defending Freedom is committed to protecting children from harmful and unnecessary medical procedures being pushed by politicized medical associations and interest groups," he said. "We look forward to even more states joining the effort to protect vulnerable children in their states."

ADF and similar organizations often cite Dutch research to support their claims that gender-affirming healthcare is harmful, particularly to children. Sharp cited a study from the Endocrine Society, which states that gender dysphoria resolves for 85% of youth who go through puberty without gender-affirming care.

This study was also cited in an expert opinion by James Cantor in the case of Boe vs. Marshall in Alabama. In that case, the court ruled against the state's law that would have imposed criminal penalties on parents and healthcare providers who facilitated gender-affirming care for minors.

Researchers from Emory University, led by Dr. Vin Tangpricha, dispute the assertion that gender dysphoria resolves at such a high rate naturally. The research team tracked 82 transgender and gender-non-conforming teens over the course of several years.

"The vast majority of transgender and gender diverse people seeking gender-affirming hormone therapy continue on these therapies. This indicates that these gender identities are persistent and sustained," Tangpricha said.

According to the Trevor Project, LGBTQ+ youth are four times more likely to attempt suicide and are at much greater risk to have suicidal ideation. About 20% of transgender and nonbinary youth attempted suicide, according to the organization's 2022 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health.

Sharp said his group is working with people who have "detransitioned."

"They sadly went through these procedures and now regret it."

Shupe once worked to oppose gender-affirming care alongside organizations like ADF. She has since renounced such organizations for using her as a "pawn."

"That fact should serve as a cautionary tale for others who may choose to get involved with these groups at their own peril," Shupe wrote in a 2022 blog. "By doing so, you will simply become a useful idiot: a pawn in their injurious war against the transgender population."

Shupe, a U.S. Army veteran, became the first legally recognized non-binary person in the United States in 2016.

House Bill 1080, called the "Help Not Harm" law, went into effect in South Dakota on July 1. It bars healthcare providers from administering surgery, prescribing drugs that delay or stop puberty and prescribing hormones at amounts "greater than would be normally produced" to anyone under age 18.

'NRA for families'

The APP has been billed as the "NRA for families," Schweppe said, as the organization runs ad campaigns and works on bills that "defend the family."

"We run ads to show Republican politicians that these are winning issues," Schweppe said. "We also worked with lawmakers to push bills across the finish line."

What would be described as winning issues changed in the eyes of Republicans for a time, Schweppe said. After a failed "bathroom bill" in North Carolina in 2016, he saw Republicans turn away from such legislation.

"We frankly lost that issue. What we did was we wanted to counter gender ideology. That was the long-term goal of ours," he said.

Women's sports bills became the next target. Then, bans on gender-affirming healthcare.

APP had also worked against same-sex marriage. Schweppe said he still "institutionally opposes" it, but the issue has fallen to the wayside because the organization is focused on "where we can actually win," like bans on gender-affirming care for kids.

Its next battle is to prevent the Equality Act from becoming federal law. The act would codify gender identity into civil rights law, protecting transgender and non-binary people from discrimination.

The bill has passed the U.S. House but has died in committee in the Senate in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021.

COVIDIOTS

Dakotas lead US in virus growth as both reject mask rules

Coronavirus infections in the Dakotas are growing faster than anywhere else in the nation

STEPHEN GROVES and DAVE KOLPACK Associated Press
12 September 2020


SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Coronavirus infections in the Dakotas are growing faster than anywhere else in the nation, fueling impassioned debates over masks and personal freedom after months in which the two states avoided the worst of the pandemic.

The argument over masks raged this week in Brookings, South Dakota, as the city council considered requiring face coverings in businesses. The city was forced to move its meeting to a local arena to accommodate intense interest, with many citizens speaking against it, before the mask requirement ultimately passed.

Amid the brute force of the pandemic, health experts warn that the infections must be contained before care systems are overwhelmed. North Dakota and South Dakota lead the country in new cases per capita over the last two weeks, ranking first and second respectively, according to Johns Hopkins University researchers.

South Dakota has also posted some of the country's highest positivity rates for COVID-19 tests in the last week — over 17 percent — an indication that there are more infections than tests are catching.

Infections have been spurred by schools and universities reopening and mass gatherings like the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, which drew hundreds of thousands of people from across the country.

“It is not a surprise that South Dakota has one of the highest (COVID-19) reproduction rates in the country,” Brookings City Council member Nick Wendell said as he commented on the many people who forgo masks in public.

The Republican governors of both states have eschewed mask requirements, tapping into a spirit of independence hewn from enduring the winters and storms of the Great Plains.

New evidence shows young children can transmit COVID-19

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study identified that 12 children infected at child care centers went on to infect 12 others, including parents and siblings.

The Dakotas were not always a hot spot. For months, the states appeared to avoid the worst of the pandemic, watching from afar as it raged through large cities. But spiking infection rates have fanned out across the nation, from the East Coast to the Sun Belt and now into the Midwest, where states like Iowa and Kansas are also dealing with surges.

When the case count stayed low during the spring and early summer, people grew weary of constantly taking precautions, said Dr. Benjamin Aaker, president of the South Dakota State Medical Association.

“People have a tendency to become complacent,” he said. “Then they start to relax the things that they were doing properly, and that’s when the increase in cases starts to go up."


Health officials point out that the COVID-19 case increases have been among younger groups that are not hospitalized at high rates. But infections have not been contained to college campuses.

“College students work in places where the vulnerable live, such as nursing homes,” said Dr. Joel Walz, the Grand Forks, North Dakota, city and county health officer. “Some of them are nursing students who are doing rotations where they’re going to see people who are really at risk. I worry about that.”

Over 1,000 students at the states' four largest universities (the University of North Dakota, North Dakota State University, South Dakota State University and University of South Dakota) left campus to quarantine after being exposed to the virus, according to data released by the schools. The Sturgis rally also spread infections across the region, with health officials in 12 states reporting over 300 cases among people who attended the event.

But requiring masks has been controversial. In Brookings, opponents said they believed the virus threat was not as serious as portrayed and that a mandate was a violation of civil liberties.

“There are a lot of things we have in life that we have to deal with that cause death,” business owner Teresa Holloman told the council. “We live in America, and we have certain inalienable rights.”

Though Brookings passed its ban, another hot spot — North Dakota's Morton County, just west of the capital city of Bismarck — soundly rejected a mask requirement after citizens spoke against it. Brookings may be the lone municipality with such an order in the Dakotas outside of Native American reservations, which have generally been more vigilant in adopting coronavirus precautions. Native Americans have disproportionately died from COVID-19, accounting for 24% of deaths statewide.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem have resisted mask requirements. Burgum promotes personal choice but tried to encourage masks with a social media campaign. Noem has discouraged mask requirements, saying she doubts a broad consensus in the medical community that they help prevent infections.

At a press briefing, Burgum displayed a slide that showed active cases in neighboring Minnesota rising to record levels since implementing a mask mandate July 25.

"In the end, it’s about individual decisions, not what the government does," he said.

Noem, who has yet to appear at a public event with a mask, carved out a reputation as a staunch conservative when she defied calls early in the pandemic for lockdown orders.

But both governors face increasing pressure to step up their approach.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, infectious disease chief at the National Institutes of Health, told MSNBC that the states' virus levels were “disturbing,” especially as fall weather arrives and Americans begin spending more time indoors.

"You don’t want to start off already with a baseline that’s so high,” Fauci said.

Neither governor appears ready to yield any ground.

“We will not be changing that approach,” Noem spokesman Ian Fury said Thursday, citing a low hospitalization rate and the fact that only 3% of intensive-care beds are occupied by COVID patients.

Doctors in both states warn that their health care systems remain vulnerable. Small hospitals in rural areas depend on just a handful of large hospitals to handle large inflows of patients or complex procedures, said Dr. Misty Anderson, president of the North Dakota Medical Association.

Aaker, the president of the South Dakota physician's group, said medical practices have seen patients delaying routine care during the pandemic, meaning that doctors could soon see an uptick in patients needing more serious attention.

“Now we are adding a surge in coronavirus cases potentially,” he said. "They are worried about being overwhelmed.”

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