US Senate Candidate Michael Black Wolf on Tim Sheehy’s Racism 

by Guest Writer | Feb 15, 2026 | Birthright Citizenship, Democrats, Indigenous People, Native Americans

Many of us remember Tim Sheehy’s racist comments during a fund raiser for his campaign for US Senate last fall. He told his audience about a trip to the Crow Reservation for a cattle branding event when he said, “Great way to bond with all the Indians out there while they’re drunk at 8 a.m.”

Despite repeated requests for an apology to Indian people Sheehy’s response was, “I come from the military, as many of our tribal members do. You know, we make insensitive jokes and probably off-color jokes sometimes,”

Now US Senate candidate, Michael Black Wolf, who is running in the Democratic Primary to challenge Steve Daines, has issued a statement challenging Sheehy’s decision to sign on to an amicus brief before the US Supreme Court challenging birth right citizenship in the United States. It is a major priority for the Trump Administration 

Black Wolf is an enrolled member of the Aaniiihnen (Gros Ventre) Tribe. He has been the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer on the Fort Belknap Reservation since January 2014. He works closely with tribal historic preservation offices from the Great Plains States and surrounding regions. He is also running for US Senate in the Democratic Primary.  

In his statement on the birthright citizenship challenge, which we are reprinting in full at the end of this post, Black Wolf said this about Sheehy, “He wants to replace our birth right with a litmus test of earning your citizenship through “singular allegiance”. Senator Sheehy is reviving the logic that being ‘too Indian’ makes you “less American”.  Sheehy’s gross attempt to turn back the clock to a pre-1924 era is a sick attempt to use the supreme court to erase the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act.  

Here is the full text of his statement:

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MICHAEL BLACK WOLF for U.S. SENATE
Michael Black Wolf for United States Senate
PO Box 210 Hays, MT 59527
Media Contact: info@blackwolfformontana.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Feb. 3, 2026
Montana Democratic Candidate for U.S. Senate Michael Black Wolf Issues Statement Regarding Senator Tim Sheehy Amici Curiae Brief Signing

HAYS – Senator Tim Sheehy signed a Supreme Court amici curiae brief with several other United States Senators and Representatives to challenge birthright citizenship. The brief explicitly utilizes Supreme Court legal precedents, specifically Elk v. Wilkens (1884), that were historically used to deny citizenship to Native Americans. This brief is a direct threat to Tribal sovereignty by weaponizing these supreme court decisions.

Sheehy is attempting to validate antiquated mind frames and legal interpretation from the 19th century which said that Indigenous People were “aliens” in our own lands, lands which my ancestors continuously occupied for thousands of years. Sheehy’s gross attempt to turn back the clock to a pre-1924 era is a sick attempt to use the supreme court to erase the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act.

Sheehy’s thinly veiled concealment of his attempt at taking away the long standing 14th Amendment Right of Citizenship millions of Americans rightfully have is revealed under the light of truth. It is a longstanding fact, if you are born in the United States of America, you are a citizen, no question. Sheehy’s brief attempts to frame that only those with “exclusive” loyalty are within U.S. jurisdiction. In fact, all people on this soil are subject to its laws and protections. He wants to replace our birth right with a litmus test of earning your citizenship through “singular allegiance”. 

Senator Sheehy is reviving the logic that being “too Indian” makes you “less American”. This is a 19th-century prejudice being used as 21st-century law. All of Montana’s Tribal Nations, all Federally Recognized Tribal Nations and true Americans throughout the Country should be vehemently opposing this outrageous attempt at culling our fellow Americans from their birthright. For all Native Peoples in this country, this brief challenges the very foundation of dual citizenship and Tribal Sovereignty.

Even though there are many non-Natives who enjoy dual citizenship here in the United States and other countries throughout the world, Sheehy would have all of us believe the ridiculous notion that birthright citizenship is a “national security threat”. The brief compares the children of those without status to “invading soldiers”. The scathing irony is this: Native Americans, the original inhabitants of this land, were the first to be labeled “aliens” under this exact legal logic. We are the true First Americans.

Tim Sheehy had the audacity to pose with several members of my own People from the Fort Belknap Indian Community, smiling for a convenient “photo op” all the while hiding his intentions of attempting to take those individuals’ citizenship away with extreme prejudice along with the rest of us First Americans and this nation’s marginalized people.

I strongly encourage tribal leaders and tribal organizations to issue a unified statement condemning the use of anti-Native U.S. Supreme Court precedent as a weaponized attempt to rip away the rightful citizenship of Americans. Senator Sheehy’s brief is a “Constitutional vs. Statutory” trap. It is very dangerous to present a distorted argument that the 1924 Act that enacted the policy for Native American citizenship is a “gift” from Congress. If citizenship is merely a “gift” from Congress (statutory), it can be taken away by a future Congress as a statutory gift rather than a constitutional right from the 14th Amendment. The 14th Amendment was framed to be universal to prevent politicians from picking and choosing who counts as a person. Using historically racist Native American exclusion as a “model” for modern immigration policy suggests that citizenship for any group is temporary and subject to political whim. The 1924 Act merely corrected a historical refusal to acknowledge the constitutional truth that the 14th Amendment gives all born on this soil citizenship.

Montana deserves a Senator who understands that Tribal Sovereignty and American citizenship are not in conflict. Montana deserves a Senator who understands that both are foundational to our amazing states identity. That is why I am running for United States Senate. I will stand and fight for all Americans; not just a small select group of entitled people. In Montana, we don’t believe our rights are a “gift” from Washington—we know they are ours by birth, and we will not let 1880s logic dictate our 2026 future.

Michael Black Wolf
Democratic Candidate
United States Senate