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Photo: Bryce Kirk, chairman of the Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council. (Jackie Coffin)
Montana is a key battleground for control of the U.S. Senate this year.
Tribal leaders say the Republican candidate needs to apologize for offensive comments that perpetuate racist stereotypes.
Yellowstone Public Radio’s Jackie Coffin has more.
Native Americans in Montana have reliably voted for democrats for decades, helping U.S. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) win three terms.
Republican newcomer Tim Sheehy is recently polling slightly ahead of Sen. Tester, but is facing scrutiny from tribal leaders after comments he is said to have made at a couple of private fundraisers were leaked to the media.
Here’s one about a trip to the Crow reservation for a cattle branding event.
“Great way to bond with all the Indians to be out there, while they’re drunk at 8 a. m. and you’re roping together (laughs).”
Sheehy is said to have made the comments last November.
In August, the Char-Koosta News, a publication of the Flathead Indian Reservation, posted the audio online.
The source of the audio has not identified themselves.
Sheehy’s campaign has not disputed the authenticity of the recording.
Tribal leaders recently held a press conference to discuss the comments.
“You know, we promote love, unity, respect. We’re not drunks. We’re a lot more things than what he said.”
Bryce Kirk (Assiniboine-Sioux) is chairman of the Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council, which represents 12 tribal nations in three states.
“My message to Tim Sheehy is to apologize, is to say, I’m sorry. For once let your pride aside And sit there and say, I’m sorry for the remarks that I made.”
So far the Sheehy campaign has not responded publicly to tribal leaders. Soon after the audio was leaked, a campaign spokesperson told the Associated Press, “What folks are insinuating about him, that’s just not who he is.”
Sylvan Covers Up, a member of the Crow Tribe, says Native people are willing to give Sheehy a chance.
“He’s probably a swell guy. You know, he’s a veteran. I respect him for that.”
But Covers Up says the leaked comments are not good for the candidate.
“And they talk about it at different powwows now. And so it’s making a mark.”
Indigenous people make up about seven percent of Montana’s population, a significant voting block in a race that’s expected to be decided by a very slim margin.
(Photo: Hannah Habermann / Wyoming Public Media)
$100 million in federal funding is headed toward U.S. states to reduce flammable trees and underbrush – particularly in areas close to homes and communities.
And in Wyoming, that chopped timber will be going to tribal members to heat their homes.
The Mountain West News Bureau’s Hanna Merzbach reports.
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