'Be a man': Indigenous leaders still waiting for Sheehy apology after disparaging remarks

Nearly two weeks after recordings surfaced of the Republican candidate reinforcing stereotypes of drunkenness among Native Americans, Sheehy has yet to publicly address those disparaging statements. The silence spurred the head of the Rocky Mountain Tribal Leadership Council to host a conference in which he asked Sheehy to respond.

“He needs to be a man,” said One Who Rides His Horse East, a spokesperson for the organization, ahead of the conference. “He needs to be a grown man.”

In late August, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes news outlet Char-Koosta News published an article quoting Sheehy at a 2023 campaign fundraiser in Shelby. During the fundraiser, the millionaire businessman bragged about having a ranching partner who is a member of the Crow Tribe. He also said roping and branding with Crow tribal members is “a great way to bond with all the Indians while they’re drunk at 8:00 a.m.”

Sheehy’s ranching partner near the Crow Reservation is not an enrolled member of the tribe, according to reporting from Lee Montana Newspapers. And, Sheehy does not lease Crow Tribal land.

At a subsequent fundraiser in Hamilton, Char-Koosta News reported, Sheehy said people at a Crow Fair parade threw beer cans at him while he rode on a horse promoting his campaign. Laughter followed both comments, recordings of which were also published by Char-Koosta News.

Tribal leaders and advocates in Montana were quick to condemn the comments. The Montana American Indian Caucus, which consists of eight Indigenous men and women who serve as representatives in the state’s Legislature, published a letter accusing Sheehy of using his platform to disrespect “the original Montanans,” for the sake of pandering to political funders. Sheehy’s comments, according to the caucus, highlighted the importance of Indian Education for All as it stems the proliferation of harmful, anti-Indian stereotypes.

Earlier this week, Crow Tribal Chairman Frank White Clay released a statement calling Sheey’s comments “unacceptable.” Along with remarking that Sheehy disrespected the history and culture of the Crown Nation, White Clay said the sale of alcohol is prohibited on the Crow Reservation. Beer cans have never flown at anyone’s head at any cultural event on the Crow Reservation, White Clay said.

“He defamed a whole people. He defamed Indians (across) the whole United States,” said Bryce Kirk, chairman of the Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council and a member of the Fort Peck Tribal Executive Board.

The firewater myth, the pervasive notion that Native Americans are more susceptible to the effects of alcohol and are more prone to becoming alcoholics than whites, has roots dating back to the first contact between Europeans and the Indigenous tribes of the Americas. This is in spite of extensive research that has shown that Native Americans have binge and heavy drinking rates comparable to that of white people in the United States, and in fact have higher rates of abstaining from alcohol. 

“Indians, we’re not drunks,” Kirk said. “We’re resilient. We’re strong. We’re educated. We’re loyal. We’re a lot more things than what (Sheehy) said.”

Kirk held Thursday’s conference near Sacrifice Cliff, on the edge of the Yellowstone River. Those who attended were treated to a performance of a warrior song and Crow hop performed by the Crow Tribe's Black Whistle Singers. 

Kirk's message to Sheehy was simple: apologize. Sheehy’s comments were particularly frustrating, Kirk said, because every reservation has something unique to share. Instead of trying to create understanding, he said, Sheehy just fed into the stereotypes of reservations being dangerous and Native Americans being drunks.

Sheehy has yet to answer any questions from news outlets regarding his comments, and his press releases published since the Char-Koostra article make no reference to them. Sheehy’s spokesperson, Jack O’Brien, did not respond to a voicemail left Thursday afternoon inviting comment.

One Who Rides His Horse East, an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Nation, noted for members of the press who attended the conference that Sheehy made one of his comments in Shelby, just northwest of the site of the Marias Massacre. In 1870, U.S. Army troops butchered a Piegan Blackfoot camp consisting of mostly women, children and the elderly.

“If you were from Montana, you’d know that,” One Who Rides His Horse East said.

The 64-year-old drew parallels between Sheehy’s comments and past political rhetoric used to denigrate and dehumanize Native Americans in Montana. Jack Abramoff, a disgraced former lobbyist who defrauded Native American tribes out of millions of dollars and had political dealings with former Montana Sen. Conrad Burns, referred to the Indigenous people he swindled as “retards,” “monkeys,” and “troglodytes,” according to reporting from ICT. One Who Rides His Horse East was part of the effort that exposed Abramoff.

Without equating Sheehy and Abramoff, One Who Rides His Horse East said there was a pattern in denigrating Native Americans.

“We need love and unity,” he said. “Not hate.”