Montana 2024 Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tim Sheehy. (Courtesy Tim Sheehy campaign)
U.S. Senate candidate Tim Sheehy isn’t saying much about two recent recordings of him in which he characterizes members of the Crow tribe as being drunk by 8 in the morning, or throwing beer cans at him during a parade.
When the recordings first surfaced, as reported by the Char-Koosta News, the official publication of the Flathead Indian Reservation, the Daily Montanan reached out the Sheehy campaign.
It did not respond.
Now, after a barrage of media coverage, local, state and national, Sheehy’s camp is still not commenting, after the Daily Montanan reached out again on Wednesday.
But tribal leaders are, and they told the Daily Montanan that it will take more than an apology to make amends in Montana’s Indian Country, home to seven reservations and 12 tribes.
Tom Rodgers, known as One-Who-Rides-His-Horse-East and an enrolled Blackfeet tribal member, works with the Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council, a large organization that represents a number of tribes throughout the West, including the Crow Nation. He said that comments like those Sheehy is heard making will take more than just an apology.
“Echoing the phenomenal writer Maya Angelou who said, ‘When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time,’ Mr. Sheehy will be judged by how well he walks through the fire and so far he has failed miserably,” Rodgers said.
The Montana American Indian Caucus, which consists of three state senators and five state representatives, condemned the remarks in a letter obtained by the Daily Montanan.
“The Montana American Indian Caucus cannot express how let down we are by your remarks, where we can hear you disparaging the Crow Nation,” a letter sent to Sheehy’s office said. “Your words perpetuate the damaging and racist stereotype of ‘the drunken Indian.’ This stereotype, and others like it, hurts our young people and contributes to limitation on their opportunity to succeed. It also highlights how important it is that we continue to provide Indian Education for All to help end these kinds of anti-Indian prejudices in Montana.”
Rodgers said that it’s not enough for tribal leaders and Native American people to hear an apology, they must see action.
“Words are hollow. We will judge by action,” Rodgers said. “Mr. Sheehy has a journey of life totally disconnected from the poorest people in the U.S. Only by living with us and experiencing a degree of poverty and hopelessness will he truly understand us.”
During two campaign stops in November, Sheehy appeared to make similar comments about the Crow people.
The first event was in Shelby on Nov. 6, 2023 when he appears to tell the crowd:
“My ranching partner and really good friend, Turk Stovall, he a Crow Indian and we ranch together on the Crow Reservation. So I’m pretty involved down there, going to the Crow Reservation and their annual Crow parade this year. I rope and brand with them every year. So, it’s a great way to bond with all the Indians being out there while they’re drunk at 8 a.m., and you’re roping together. Every one that you miss, you get a Coors Light on the side of your head.”
Sheehy then appears to make similar comments at the event in Hamilton on Nov. 10:
“I strapped on a Sheehy sign to a horse and rode through the Crow Parade and if you know a tough crowd, that’s (it). They let you know if they like you or not. There’s Coors Light cans flying by your head as you’re riding by. You know they respect that. You go where the action is and they say, ‘You know, the guy’s not that bad. He rode the horse through the parade. That’s cool.’”
Sheehy was hand-picked by current U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, who is leading the Senate Republicans’ re-election campaign. Sheehy is running against incumbent Democrat U.S. Sen. Jon Tester.
The Montana American Indian Caucus also praised the Crow Nation, saying it should be “admired for its efforts to bring its people out of 200 years of systemic socioeconomic neglect by the federal and state governments.”
“Your words are wrong, derogatory, and hurtful to a racial population that is fighting for equality and to improve their homeland,” the MAIC letter said.
Rodgers said that in a perfect world, he would like to see Sheehy be reconciled to Montana’s Native people by a process of restorative justice, where action and empathy lead to a new relationship.
“He will never secure our trust until he can be on a journey that empathizes with our experiences,” Rodgers said.