Sheehy, Tester, and respect

By now, most of us have learned of the shocking recordings of Tim Sheehy at Montana campaign events talking about "bonding with all the Indians while they’re drunk at 8:00 A.M.," and having "Coors Light cans flying by your head" while riding in the Crow parade.

Mr. Sheehy, who grew up in an upper-class lakeside mansion in Minnesota, presented those false anecdotes to largely white audiences as representations of Indian people —leaving unmentioned, for example, the growing numbers of tribal members who've made their way through school and earned advanced degrees despite obstacles that Mr. Sheehy cannot even imagine.

Mr. Sheehy's ignorant stereotyping can do real damage to our communities, especially those young tribal members who already struggle to develop and maintain a sense of pride in themselves, their identity and their heritage.

Mr. Sheehy has now doubled down on his disrespect, refusing the requests of Montana's Tribal Nations to apologize for his remarks. It’s not surprising, unfortunately, given the repeated questions about Mr. Sheehy's integrity and honesty, from his business history to his bullet wound to extensive plagiarism in his self-promoting book.

Even worse, Mr. Sheehy would help implement the Republicans' "Project 2025," a radical plan to dismantle the federal government, gutting or privatizing health care, social security, civil rights and personal freedoms, and the protection of our environment and public lands. The larger goal of Project 2025 is to undermine democracy itself.

That would benefit only the privileged and wealthy like Mr. Sheehy, who has bought up vast Montana lands, blocking access to us while selling luxury hunting junkets to out-of-staters, charging $12,500 a pop. In 2022, he joined the Board of the "Property and Economic Research Center," an extremist Bozeman group that has long advocated privatizing public lands.

While Mr. Sheehy often promotes his military service, we know that there has never—never—been a Montana congressman who has worked harder and accomplished more for our veterans and soldiers than Jon Tester.

Senator Tester holds a deeply rooted sense of respect. Respect is an old Montana value. It's also what tribal elders have often described as the heart of traditional Indigenous cultures. It is the opposite of what Tim Sheehy has demonstrated.

Over the next two weeks, let's stand up at the ballot box and re-elect a true Montana dirt-farmer as Senator who, unlike his challenger, has repeatedly earned our trust and our gratitude.

– Thompson Smith and Karin Stallard, Charlo, and Tom McDonald and Teresa Wall-McDonald, Ronan