PIERRE, S.D. – On his last day in office, Attorney General Mark Vargo offered words of high
praise Friday for the attorneys, investigators and staff at the Attorney General’s Office and the
state Division of Criminal Investigation. “It is the strength of your character that ensures this
office so well serves the people of South Dakota,” he said to the team which gathered in the
atrium of the George S. Mickelson Criminal Justice Center in Pierre, S.D.
Vargo, who will return next week to his job as Pennington County State’s Attorney, was
appointed by Gov. Kristi Noem to serve as Attorney General in June 2022 after he successfully
led the Senate impeachment trial against former Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg. Ravnsborg
was accused of fatally running over a pedestrian and leaving the scene in 2020.
“Some might have expected that I would find low morale and disorder” in the office, said Vargo.
“That’s not what I found at all. I found an amazing group of talented and dedicated prosecutors,
investigators, technicians and staff who had rolled up their sleeves to perform for the citizens of
the state.”
Vargo also found that very little effort had gone into hiring a coordinator for the new Office of
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons that the Legislature created in 2021. He made it a
priority to not only find the right person for the job but also to focus attention on improving
relations between the state government and the state’s tribal communities by launching the
position in a way to best set it up for success.
First, find the right person. “I found that there were only a handful of applications for the post
and that there was no evidence anyone had read through them. I reposted the job,” said Vargo.
Eventually there were more than 70 applications for the post.
Second, launch the MMIP position in the right way. In September Vargo convened an advisory
circle to guide him in the hiring process. He reached out to Red Ribbon Skirt Society members,
who for years have called for action to protect Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, and
Legislators such as Rep. Peri Pourier who sponsored the bill that created the MMIP position. He
also included representatives from tribal governments and tribal law enforcement. To open the
meeting, held at the Mickelson Center, Vargo asked his friends Chris and Tara White Eagle and
Pastor Jon Old Horse from Rapid City’s Wambli Ska Society to bring a drum circle to offer
prayers and to ceremoniously smudge, or burn sage. The prayer circle grew to more than 150 people and included the staff of the Attorney General’s Office, the Division of Criminal
Investigation as well as the invited tribal and Native leaders.
“Our problems don’t respect jurisdictional lines on a map, they don’t respect the color of our
skin. So why should our response be divided by those things?” Vargo asked the gathering.
After the prayer circle, the advisory group met to discuss the aims of the MMIP Office and the
hiring process. Native leaders welcomed the spirit of inclusion.
“Mark set a very inclusive tone during his term in office,” said Sec. of Tribal Relations Dave
Flute. “The consultation he organized before hiring the MMIP Coordinator was one of the most
effective I have seen.”
In October Vargo hired Allison Morrisette as the state’s first MMIP Coordinator. An Oglala
Lakota Tribal member, Morrisette came from the Pennington County State’s Attorney’s Office
where she was the Adult Diversion Coordinator. But there were two more pieces Vargo wanted
to put in place to give the coordinator the best chances for success. He wanted to introduce
Morrisette to the state and the community in a good way and create a support system for her as
she began tackling a job as difficult as MMIP.
