South Dakota threatens to fire university employees for using pronouns, tribal affiliations in emails

Universities in South Dakota are threatening to suspend or terminate employees if they use pronouns or tribal affiliations in email signatures, per a recent policy adopted by the South Dakota Board of Regents.

The board adopted the policy last December after Gov. Kristi Noem (R) sent a letter to them condemning “liberal ideologies” on college campuses. Noem also reportedly asked the board to bar drag shows on campuses and scrub all references to preferred pronouns. A spokesperson for the board, whose nine voting members were all appointed by Noem, said that policy was a matter of brand consistency.

“South Dakota Bans Pronouns, Tribal Affiliations in University Email Signatures”

for consistent branding and to safeguard the universities’ missions and interests pic.twitter.com/YTHYTquMce

— Lauren Lassabe Shepherd (@llassabe) May 22, 2024

John Little, a University of South Dakota faculty member, received an email by the school threatening to suspend or terminate him if he did not cooperate with the policy.

“I was told that I had 5 days to remove my tribal affiliation and pronouns,” Little reportedly told the Associated Press via email. “I believe the exact wording was that I had ‘5 days to correct the behavior.’ If my tribal affiliation and pronouns were not removed after the 5 days, then administrators would meet and make a decision whether I would be suspended (with or without pay) and/or immediately terminated.”

Noem was recently banished from every Native American tribe in her state after publicly accusing them of harboring and profiting from Mexican cartel members on their land.

Noem has served as South Dakota’s governor since 2019, and she is a potential vice president candidate for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, despite her recent unpopularity. This disapproval may stem from a story from her new book, where Noem describes executing her dog in a gravel pit.