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“We told those folks that have concerns that they stay can home,” GOP Gov. Kristi Noem said in an interview with Fox News on Monday night. “But those who want to come, join us. We will be giving out free face masks if they choose to wear one. We won’t be social distancing, we’re asking them to come, be ready to celebrate the freedoms and the liberties we have in this country.”

With large crowds expected, no social distancing and face coverings remaining optional – which goes against recommendations issued by the CDC, the Mount Rushmore event concerns Native American locals.

The Mount Rushmore National Monument is seen at night and through an arch at the visitors center in Keystone, South Dakota. Pres. Trump will visit the monument and watch the first fireworks display at the monument in nearly a decade. https://t.co/8wBL9SsRWE pic.twitter.com/3p9hOY4ag8

— ABC News (@ABC) July 3, 2020

“Trump coming here is a safety concern not just for my people inside and outside the reservation, but for people in the Great Plains,” said Bear Runner in an interview with the Guardian. “We have such limited resources in Black Hills, and we’re already seeing infections rising.”

Just this week, the United States saw an increase in over 50,000 positive cases in just one day.

“In a time of crisis, where more than 127,299 Americans have died, the president is putting our Tribal members at risk to stage a photo-op at one of our most sacred sites,” Frazier said. “This is an administration that has not only mishandled the federal government’s response to the virus from the start, but has attempted to trample on our rights as a sovereign nation to conduct safety checks at our boundaries. We will not allow this administration or anyone to interfere with our right to take measures to protect our people.”

The pushback also comes on the heels of a lawsuit brought by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe against the Trump administration, claiming the White House tried to stop the tribe from implementing checkpoints on federal roads near the reservation. According to the lawsuit, Frazier, the chairman of the tribe, received calls from Mark Meadows, Trump’s chief of staff, and Dr. Deborah Birx, a member of coronavirus task force. The tribe was told that if it didn’t let up on the checkpoints, their law enforcement program would be taken over by the federal government.

“You see what they’re doing at the state level in places like Washington state, New York and California to be proactive in slowing the spread,” said Rodney Bordeaux, President of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, who supports the lawsuit. “Our tribal governments also have rights, and obligations to our people to protect them. Apparently, the administration wants to punish Tribes for that. We will not stand by and let that happen.”

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