On a blustery Thursday morning in Billings, with sacred Crow tribal sites in the background and with a drum performance of a Crow war song, tribal members and leadership delivered a message for a candidate in one of the tightest US Senate races in the country.
“My message to Tim Sheehy is to apologize, is to say, I'm sorry. For once put your pride aside and say, 'I'm sorry for the remarks that I made. I'm sorry for what I said',” said Bryce Kirk.
Kirk is chairman of the Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council, which represents twelve tribal nations in three states.
On September 4, the council sent a letter to Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tim Sheehy demanding he apologize for comments made at fundraisers in November 2023, joking about members of the Crow tribe and alcohol.
Sheehy is the Republican challenger of Democratic incumbent Senator Jon Tester. The Tester-Sheehy race is tight and one of the most closely-watched Senate races in the nation.
The audio recordings were first published August 29 in Char-Koosta News, a publication from the Flathead Indian Reservation, and provided to Yellowstone Public Radio from a direct source.
From November 6 in Shelby, Sheehy is heard in the audio clips talking to a group of supporters about roping and branding with members of the Crow tribe, referencing them being drunk early in the morning.
"Great way to bond with all the Indians to be out there, while they're out there drunk at 8 a. m. and you're roping together ang every heel shot you miss, you get a Coors Light can to the side of the head."
From November 10 in Hamilton, Sheehy talks about beer cans being thrown at his head while riding a horse through the parade during Crow Fair.
"And if you know a tough crowd, you want to go to the Crow Res. That's, you know, they let you know whether they like you or not—there's Coors Light cans flying by heads...but you know, they respect that. You go with, you know, you go with the action as they say, hey, that guy's not that bad, you know. Yeah, he rode a horse through the parade, you know, that's pretty cool. But I threw a beer can at his head, it didn't even flinch."
Kirk, who is from the Fort Peck Assiniboine-Sioux Nation, says the statements were a slap in the face for tribal members across the state.
"[Sheehy] came and sat in our council probably about two weeks ago in Fort Peck and was talking about, his thing was,' Oh, I sat in a bunker for about a month with somebody from Pine Ridge. And, you know, these Indian issues ain't gonna be a thing when it comes to it. And two weeks later, remarks come out about him and his defamation when it comes to Indians," Kirk said.
"And for me, that don't sit well for me. That's not who we are."
Kirk says as of Thursday morning, they have not yet received a response from Sheehy or his campaign.
"Simple, simple words, but hard for a lot of people," Kirk said. "We promote love, unity, respect. We're not drunks. We're a lot more things than what he said."
Kirk says regardless of party, it is in tribal nations’ best interest to work with candidates and elected officials of the federal government and the goal of reaching Sheehy is to reach common ground.
However, Kirk says if they don't receive an apology from Sheehy, they would consider further options including stepping into the political fray, which Kirk says they have been previously reluctant to do.
When asked by a reporter if the Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council would consider endorsing Tester if Sheehy doesn't apologize, Kirk says it is something they would consider.
"We know who fights for Indian country. We know we know that Tester does his best when it comes to Indian country," Kirk said.
"And so I guess it's something that has to be talked about. It's something that has to get put out to all reservations to vote as we do it together, because that's one thing each council in each place. But if we do it together, then... I would sign off on it," Kirk said.
YPR reached out to Sheehy’s campaign last week and again Thursday to ask for an interview or statement about the comments, but we have not heard back by the time of this publication.
