{"id":40801,"date":"2024-09-12T12:52:58","date_gmt":"2024-09-12T16:52:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=40801"},"modified":"2024-09-12T12:58:27","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T16:58:27","slug":"daily-montanan-crow-tribe-condemns-remarks-by-republican-candidate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2024\/09\/12\/daily-montanan-crow-tribe-condemns-remarks-by-republican-candidate\/","title":{"rendered":"Daily Montanan: Crow Tribe condemns remarks by Republican candidate"},"content":{"rendered":" \"Tim<\/a>
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tim Sheehy, center, campaigns in Bozeman, Montana, on September 6, 2024. Photo: Tim Sheehy for Montana<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n
Crow chairman said Sheehy\u2019s racist remarks disrespect tribe, perpetuate stereotypes<\/div>\r\n
Thursday, September 12, 2024<\/div>\r\n
By Keila Szpaller, Daily Montanan<\/a> <\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tim Sheehy\u2019s disparaging remarks<\/a> about the Crow Tribe reflect a discriminatory and racially prejudiced belief about all Native Americans, and they are \u201chighly unprofessional,\u201d said Crow Tribe of Indians Chairman Frank Whiteclay in a September 8 letter<\/a>.<\/p>

The racially tinged statements, which referred to members of the Crow Tribe as being \u201cdrunk at 8 a.m.,\u201d perpetuate harmful stereotypes and also contain misinformation, said the letter.<\/p>

\u201cIt is crucial for public figures to promote unity and respect for all communities, and such remarks undermine that goal,\u201d Whiteclay said in the letter.<\/p>

Sheehy\u2019s remarks were first reported by the Char-Koosta News<\/a> of the Flathead Indian Reservation.<\/p>

In the recordings, obtained and posted online by Char-Koosta, Sheehy described his ranching partner and friend, Turk Stovall, as \u201ca Crow Indian,\u201d and said his involvement with the tribe means he bonds with \u201call the Indians\u201d who are \u201cdrunk at 8 a.m.\u201d at the annual parade.<\/p>\r\n

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\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Crow\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t
\n\t\t\n\t\t\tCrow Tribe on Tim Sheehy: \u2018Disparaging and degrading\u2019\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t
\n\t\t\n\t\t\t

Leaders of the Crow Tribe are speaking out against Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tim Sheehy.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

\n\t\t\"Native\t\tNative Vote\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n<\/p>\r\n

But the chairman said Stovall is not an enrolled Crow Tribal member, Sheehy does not lease tribal land, and he said Sheehy also mischaracterized the Crow\u2019s annual celebration and its cultural heritage. (Stovall could not be reached for comment through Facebook, but in a post in June 2023, he refers to Sheehy as a \u201cfriend and fellow rancher\u201d and lends him support.)<\/p>

\u201cSheehy also states, \u2018Riding in the Crow Parade, they\u2019ll let you know if they like you or not if Coors Light cans are flying by your head.\u2019 The Abs\u00e1alooke Nation has never had beer cans flying at anyone\u2019s heads during our cultural celebrations,\u201d Whiteclay wrote; the letter addressed the remarks Sheehy made, although it wasn\u2019t addressed to anyone in particular.<\/p>

In a race that\u2019s drawn national attention and tens of millions<\/a> of dollars, Sheehy is campaigning to try to unseat incumbent U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, the only statewide elected Democrat in Montana.<\/p>

Tester is running for a fourth term, and a recent poll said Sheehy is in the lead.<\/p>

Sheehy does not appear to have issued a public apology for his earlier remarks, and a spokesperson for Sheehy\u2019s campaign did not respond to an email sent late Tuesday afternoon.<\/p>

Montana is home to 12 tribes and seven reservations, and Native Americans make up roughly 7% of the state population.<\/p>

Last week, the Crow Tribe secretary for the executive branch Levi Black Eagle told MTN News<\/a> that Crows can handle \u201cgood natured ribbing,\u201d but Sheehy\u2019s comments perpetuate racist stereotypes, and the ranching families he knows are strong workers.<\/p>

\u201cI know that they don\u2019t start their day with a can of beer,\u201d Black Eagle told MTN News.<\/p>\r\n

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\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Rocky\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t
\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council call out Tim Sheehy at press conference\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t
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The Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council is hosting a press conference in Billings, Montana, on September 12, 2024.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

\n\t\t\"Native\t\tNative Vote\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n<\/P>\r\n

The Montana American Indian Caucus earlier condemned<\/a> the remarks by Sheehy, and a representative of the Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council said Native Americans want more than an apology, they want action.<\/p>

However, Tom Rodgers, with the council, said Sheehy is \u201cdisconnected from the poorest people in the U.S.\u201d and couldn\u2019t secure trust until he was \u201con a journey that empathizes with our experiences.\u201d<\/p>

The letter from Crow Chairman Whiteclay also said Sheehy is \u201cout of touch with Indian Country and out of touch with Montana Tribes.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cNative Americans make up over 7% of the state\u2019s population and represent one of the largest ethnicities serving in the United States Armed Forces per capita,\u201d said the letter; Sheehy is a military veteran. \u201cTim Sheehy\u2019s racial remarks about the Crow Tribe and Indian Country are deeply troubling and unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>

In the letter, Whiteclay also described the parade Sheehy referenced in his comments and the state of Montana, \u201crich in Native American culture and heritage.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cOur state has tens of thousands of proud and honorable Indigenous peoples,\u201d said the letter. \u201cWe celebrate our heritage through numerous diverse cultural and religious customs.<\/p>

\u201cThe Crow Fair Powwow is an event in which the Great Crow Nation honors Abs\u00e1alooke culture and tradition \u2026 Crow Fair is a time to celebrate the Crow way of life and a time to give thanks with prayers and blessings for the coming year.\u201d<\/p>

The U.S. Senate race in Montana is drawing national attention because political control of the Senate hangs in the balance in the November election.<\/p>

Sheehy was hand-picked by U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, to unseat Tester.<\/p>

Tuesday, the head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee said his top priority<\/a> this November is defending incumbents, and he put Tester as one of the top people on his list.<\/p>\r\nExecutive Branch of the Aps\u00e1alooke Nation Statement on Tim Sheehy<\/a>\r\n