I must admit that I don’t know as much about the Native American tribes as I should, but I do know the general history of how Europeans dispossessed their land, destroyed their culture, did irreversible harm to their cultures,* forced them into various branches of Christianity (Catholic and Protestant missionaries used to fight each other over who got to convert them). And they used alcohol to destroy their dignity.
These days, we are coming to grips with that history. Well, some of us are. Republicans seem to go out of their way to pick candidates who not only learn nothing from history but who are actively trying to revive the worst parts of it. Take the Republican candidate for senator from Montana, Tim Sheehy:
Senate Candidate Tim Sheehy Makes Questionable Racially-Tinged Remarks About Crow Reservation
Senate Candidate Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), who is running against Jon Tester (D-Mont.) during this election cycle, made questionable racially tinged comments about the Crow Reservation at fundraisers last year. In audio clips obtained by Char-Koosta News, Sheehy can be heard at a November 6, 2023, campaign fundraiser in Shelby commenting on his relationship with tribal members on the Crow Reservation.
In the clip, Sheehy says he ropes and brands with Crow members, and that it’s “a great way to bond with all the Indians while they’re drunk at 8:00 A.M.” This was said after stating that one of his ranching partners is a Crow member.
(This is from the Char-Koosta News, the official publication of the Flathead Indian Reservation. The paper says it is working to verify the audio with the Sheehy campaign, but does not seem to be in much doubt about its veracity.)
Raw Story picked up the story: Audio emerges of Republican's racially charged tirade about 'drunk' Native Americans. They report the quote this way:
"We ranch together on the Crow res," he told the group. "So, I'm pretty involved down there. Road through their annual Crow Fair this year. Um, and I've broken bread with them every year... so... Great way to bond with all the Indians while they're drunk at 8:00 A.M. and you're ropin' together."
Sheehy has made similar remarks about the Crow before; last November he says he rode a horse at the Cow Fair parade, and:
He claimed that one of the first things he did was strap a Sheehy sign to his horse and ride through the "Crow Res parade."
"And if you know a tough crowd, go through the Crow parade," he said. "Now, they’ll let you know when they like you or not, if Coors Light cans flying by your head… They respect that. You know, you go where the action is. They say, that guy's not that bad, ya know? Rode a horse through the parade. That's pretty cool. And I threw a beer can at his head, and he didn't even flinch!"
Native News Online is also running the story: Montana GOP Candidate Tim Sheehy Caught on Audio Talking About “Drunk Indians at 8 a.m.”.
So far the story doesn’t seem to have made it to the MSM (I found it on Political Wire), but we’ll see; the story just broke today.
According to the US Census of 2020 (PDF), “American Indian and Alaska Native Alone” (their category) make up 6.2% of the Montana population. In a tight race, that’s a lot of votes. And the rest of us are (or should be) pissed off as well.
*A couple of comments below have argued that it would be more correct to say the Europeans tried very hard to destroy Native American culture. I think it goes beyond that, especially in the eastern states (outside of the Seminoles in Florida), but saying that the cultures were destroyed nationwide is probably too broad a generalization. Many of the nations have managed to preserve and maintain many aspects of their traditions and cultures, and done so in the face of enormous obstacles and pressures (which may be brought to bear again if the GOP gets to implement Project 2025).
