SIOUX FALLS, SD (KELO) — It's not only a new year, but potentially a new era for relations between Native American tribes and the South Dakota governor's office. Tribes across the state banned Gov. Kristi Noem in 2024 from entering their land in the wake of comments she had made about their children and safety, but the second full week of 2025 has brought more than one piece of evidence that divisions are eroding. "Whether in tribal council or this legislature, progress is not about perfection," Sisseton Wahpeton Sioux Tribal chairman J. Garret Renville said Wednesday during the State of the Tribes address in Pierre. "It's about persistence, honest communication and partnership." After a rocky 2024, the new year is bringing the prospect of a new chapter for relationships between the South Dakota governor's office and Native tribes. "Today, let's reset," Renville said during the address. "Today, let's rebuild. Today, let's start to listen and actually hear." 2 dead after drowning in Walworth County Dave Flute, who serves a secretary of tribal relations in Noem's cabinet, says those comments echo what the governor said earlier in the week. "This past Monday, just two days before the State of the Tribes address, Governor Noem met with four of our tribes and their tribal leaders at their request, and during this meeting, she had expressed to the tribes to take advantage of the opportunity to reset and rebuild with Lieutenant Governor Rhoden as he takes the position of governor," Flute said Thursday. "And so I'm grateful that Chairman Renville reiterated the governor's words from her heart, and we're ready to continue building those tribal relations." And Tuesday, the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe dropped its banishment of Noem. "I'm very thankful and commend the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe for their courage and their understanding in making a decision to lift the banishment," said Flute, who has previously served as chairman of the Sisseton Wahpeton Sioux Tribe. The Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribal flag hung in the Capitol rotunda on Thursday. For his part, Lower Brule Sioux Tribal chairman Boyd Gourneau concurs with Renville's hope for renewal. Dan Santella: When compared to three months ago, have relations between the tribes and the governor's office improved, do you think? "Well, I'd say so, because they're happening again," Gourneau said Thursday. Gourneau says Noem remains banned from their land. However, the door is clearly open for a change. "I know we're going to look at it ... in the spirit of yesterday's speech," Gourneau said. "I hope all tribes look at it and see how we go from here."