Montana
'Old racist stereotypes': Crow Tribe official responds to Tim Sheehy's 'drunk Indian' comments
BILLINGS — Representatives of the Crow tribes and other native groups are expressing their displeasure following the release of audio recordings of Montana U.S. Senate Republican candidate Tim Sheehy making racially insensitive comments about Crow tribe members involving alcohol.
“I know that Crows are our community, we’re no stranger to some good-natured ribbing, but I think this is a, I think that it’s a perpetuating old racist stereotypes, that of the outdated idea of the (makes air quotes with his hands) drunken Indian,” the Crow tribe’s secretary for the executive branch, Levi Black Eagle, in Wednesday interview with MTN News.
“I know that all the cattle and ranching families that I know, Crow and ranching families, they’re an upstanding character, they’re strong workers. I know that they don’t start their day with a can of beer,” Black Eagle said.
In the audio clips, taken in 2023 at different fundraising events, Sheehy can be heard saying, “I’m pretty involved down there, rode through their Crow Rez, their annual Crow Fair parade this year. I rope and brand with them every year down there, 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 heel shot you miss, you get a Coors Light can upside your head.”
MTN News
Just days later, Sheehy was heard again at another event, accusing tribal members of throwing beer cans at him during the annual Crow Fair Parade.
“Six weeks after I launched the first thing I did was I strapped a Sheehy sign to a horse and rode through the Crow Rez parade and if you want to know a tough crowd, go to the Crow Rez. They let you know whether they like you or not, there’s Coors Light cans flying by your head,” Sheehy said.
MTN News
The Crow tribe has a ban on alcohol sales on the reservation.
“It’s really disheartening, especially from an individual, a candidate running for such a high office, you would expect more from those individuals,” Black Eagle said. “I think it’s a majority of the community that fights hard to negate those stereotypes and to have them perpetuate in such a way is just, it’s really disgusting. And we don’t stand for it.”
Black Eagle said the parade is a time to honor and appreciate their culture and tribal members’ accomplishments.
MTN News
“I don’t think that there’s ever been an instance where one of the spectators threw anything, especially at one of our guests. We treat our guests better than that,” Black Eagle said. “It’s a time for us to show our best versions of ourselves and definitely to have it smeared in such a way is just, it’s really shady.”
Sheehy is seeking to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Tester in a race that could determine control of the U.S. Senate. The race has garnered national attention, with millions of dollars flowing into the race that will be decided Nov. 5.
On Wednesday morning, Sheehy held a campaign event in Billings, where the senate hopeful spoke alongside U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas. His campaign team was aware that MTN News asked for an interview with Sheehy, but at the immediate conclusion of the event, Sheehy was taken out of the room and interview requests were denied.
Other prominent members of the Native American community in Montana were also upset to hear Sheehy’s words.
Montana state Sen. Shane Morigeau, a Missoula Democrat, said the comments, which he learned about on Tuesday, misrepresent tribal members, and he fears what it could do to the younger generations hearing those words.
“When you’re making jokes about, you know, native people being, you know, alcoholics and violent, well, what does that tell the young native kid that lives in my community or on the Crow reservation?” Morigeau said. “When I was listening to it, what I started thinking about was like, ‘Wow, this is exactly one of the reasons I brought legislation forward last session to essentially have an Indian education for all type of bill for legislators.”
MTN News
Morigeau’s bill failed in 2023, but he still hopes this can be a learning moment for everyone.
“I think these sorts of things are, there’s an underbelly of this kind of stuff in the state of Montana. And it’s unfortunate,” Morigeau said. “I really wish it could be a learning opportunity for the candidate, as well. You know, we expect our elected officials to be people of integrity. And when you do something that’s wrong or hurtful, you own up to it and you apologize.”
Morigeau is a member of the Montana American Indian Caucus, which released a letter to Sheehy Wednesday afternoon saying how “let down” they were by his remarks.
“As a candidate for office in Montana, you have a responsibility to know and respect the Indian communities you are running to represent. You are also responsible for using your platform to advocate for that respect to your political supporters,” a portion of the letter states. “Instead, you have chosen to disrespect the original Montanans as a strategy to pander to the non-Indian vote and political funders. Your remarks have only further alienated the tribal people from your party.”
MISSOULA, Mont. — The Clark Fork River has long been a defining feature of Missoula, shaping the city’s culture, economy and outdoor lifestyle.
The river is so closely tied to the area that it helped inspire the well-known book and film “A River Runs Through It.” But local conservation advocates say its importance goes far beyond scenery.
“Without the Clark Fork River, Missoula would just be another town,” said Lisa Ronald, Northern Rockies associate conservation director for American Rivers. “We wouldn’t be the River City. I think we’re known in Montana as Missoula the River City, and it’s really because of the Clark Fork River and its central role in business, in economics, in recreation, that really makes Missoula the town that it is.”
Carmen Murill, a field organizer with Wild Montana, said the river is deeply woven into daily life for people who live in Missoula.
“A lot of us would wonder what to do on a beautiful or a rainy summer day,” Murill said. “I mean, it’s really a lifeforce of town. And I think it’s pretty unique that Missoula, as a community is living and breathing on both sides of the river. It’s really like two downtowns but connected by the Clark Fork.”
Conservation groups say protecting the river begins with community involvement.
Advocates encourage residents and visitors to spend time outdoors, whether on a trail, in the woods or along the river, and to learn how they can become better stewards of the environment.
MISSOULA — Sam Forstag edged out Ryan Busse to secure the Democratic nomination in Montana’s 1st Congressional District.
Busse conceded the race to Forstag on Wednesday morning. Forstag had trailed behind Busse Tuesday evening, but he made up ground as the votes were counted into the early hours of Wednesday morning. The other two candidates in the race, Russl Cleveland and Matt Rains, are sitting at third and fourth, respectively.
Forstag leads in close race for Montana’s 1st Congressional District
Forstag spent eight years as a wildland firefighter, including four as a smokejumper, and he’s been vice president of the local National Federation of Federal Employees union. Last week, U.S. House of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, held a rally in Missoula to support Forstag’s campaign.
He told MTN on Tuesday that his campaign has been for the working class.
“We got a whole lot of people here that have been working their tail off to finally get some working-class representation in Washington,” Forstag noted. “So proud of everything we’ve done and so grateful.”
Forstag further noted he wants Montanans to be able to afford groceries, have universal free childcare and restore and expand Affordable Health Care Act subsidies.
“Hearing people’s stories and struggles and commonalities in the ways that we’re all fighting in the system that does not serve us so often, and the government serves corporations and the richest people in this country more than working people. It has been frustrating and saddening, but it has also inspired so much hope in me, like the fixes we can actually make,” he told MTN.
The 1st Congressional District covers much of western Montana, including Kalispell, Missoula, Butte and Bozeman. It is currently held by Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Montana, who chose not to seek reelection.
By securing the nomination, Forstag is slated tol face off against Libertarian candidate Nick Sheedy and Republican candidate Aaron Flint in November.
Brian Miller won the Democratic primary Tuesday for the U.S. House seat in Montana’s eastern district.
The Associated Press called the race for Miller, an attorney in Helena, who fended off a challenge from state Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, a longtime legislator from Box Elder, and Sam Lux, a farrier from Great Falls.
In the Republican and rural eastern district, any Democrat will be an underdog, and Miller will face off against incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Troy Downing, who was unopposed Tuesday.
Libertarian Patrick McCracken is also running.
In the primary, Miller took 58% of the vote. Lux took 27% and Windy Boy took 16%, according to the Montana Secretary of State’s website.
In April, Windy Boy paused his campaign amid “serious sexual abuse” allegations raised by the Montana Democratic Party — but Windy Boy restarted his campaign and later called the allegations “political attacks.”
Miller is representing the victim of the alleged abuse and her mother, although he said he didn’t take on the role until after Windy Boy initially suspended his campaign.
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