The Associated Press reports:
A new South Dakota policy to stop the use of gender pronouns by public university faculty and staff in official correspondence is also keeping Native American employees from listing their tribal affiliations in a state with a long and violent history of conflict with tribes.
It came only months after Republican Gov. Kristi Noem sent a letter to the regents that railed against “liberal ideologies” on college campuses and called for the board to ban drag shows on campus and “remove all references to preferred pronouns in school materials,” among other things.
All nine voting members of the board were appointed by Noem, whose remarks in March accusing tribal leaders of benefitting from illegal drug cartels.
Read the full article. University staffers say they were given five days to “correct the behavior” or face termination. Noem has been banned from all tribal lands in her state. Native American reservations cover roughly 20% of South Dakota.
Pronouns and tribal affiliations are now forbidden in South Dakota public university employee emails https://t.co/lLQnD5P8Qh
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 25, 2024