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

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

by | 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

U.S. Senate Candidate Tim Sheehy Caught Telling a Lie

U.S. Senate Candidate Tim Sheehy Caught Telling a Lie

by | Apr 12, 2024 | Elections

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tim Sheehy has a bullet in his arm. The Washington Post broke a convoluted and confusing news story about how it got there.  The story is convoluted and confusing, because Tim Sheehy has been telling a couple of different stories about how it got there.

Story number 1 according to Tim Sheehy-  In 2015 he was in the parking lot at Logan Pass in Glacier Park.  While putting things in his car, his Colt .45 pistol slipped and fell to the ground, causing it to discharge and hit him in the arm.  He was ticketed by the Park Service and paid a fine.  Now Sheehy says this story was a lie.  

Story number 2 according to Tim Sheehy-  In 2012 while serving in Afghanistan, he was hit by a bullet in the arm.  He says that he doesn’t know where it came from.  He says that he did not report the wound, as is presumably required by the military, because he did not want to  prompt an investigation which could have drug his platoon mates through the mud.  Tim Sheehy says this is the real story.

Jackie Brown over at the Western Word Blog here in Great Falls put it this way when calling on Sheehy to withdraw from the Senate Race: “As I said yesterday, Sheehy should do the honorable thing and drop out of the U.S. Senate race this week. These are not the actions one would expect from a Naval Officer and Navy SEAL. These are not the actions Montanans would expect from a U.S. Senator. To say the least, it’s dishonorable.”

We can’t say it any better than conservative lawyer and Never Trumper, George Conway,  “Let those among you who have not lied about lying about shooting yourselves in the arm in a national park in order to cover up not faking a combat wound—or something like that, I can’t quite figure it out—cast the first stone.”

 

Another Bad Day For Shady Tim Sheehy

Another Bad Day For Shady Tim Sheehy

by | Apr 12, 2024 | Elections

U.S. Senate candidate, Tim Sheehy, touts his experience as an entrepreneur as one of the major things that qualifies him for a seat in the Senate.  We’ve already pointed out the irony of the fact that his business, Bridger Aerospace, makes the vast majority of its money on government firefighting contracts.  Now The Montana Free Press is reporting that Bridger Aerospace is “deeply in the red” in a thorough story using Security Exchange Commission (SEC) reports.  https://montanafreepress.org/2024/04/09/u-s-senate-hopefuls-company-reported-losses-of-more-than-77-million-in-2023/ 

Sheehy Wearing Rose-Colored  Glasses While Pulling Wool Over Investors’ Eyes

While the filings with the SEC clearly show a company in deep financial trouble, with losses of $77 million last year, Bridger Aerospace Investor Relations issued a glowing report announcing record earnings of $67 million in 2023 (while bemoaning the lack of wildfires last year).  The report went on to say it had received record contract awards in 2023, including a $60 million exclusive contract with the Department of Interior. The report also asserts that the company is poised to grow over 80% in 2024.  

However, the disclaimer in the Investor Relations Report says in pertinent part, “Certain statements included in this press release are not historical facts but are forward-looking statements, including for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.”  We’ll save you reading the whole thing because it is quite long containing lots of wiggle words.  Feel free to read it yourself at   https://ir.bridgeraerospace.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/37/bridger-aerospace-announces-record-2023-results-provides

Sheehy’s Filing With the SEC Tells a Different Story

The SEC filing begins with a note from the Bridger Aerospace’s own auditors which states, “As discussed in Note 1 to the financial statements, the Company has suffered recurring losses from operations, operating cash flow deficits, debt covenant violations, and insufficient liquidity to fund its operations that raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern.”  

Montana Free Press quoted University of Montana  accounting professor Terri Herron who examined the financial reports as saying, “Management concluded that they may not be around in a year.”  

So Who Is On The Hook if Sheehy Goes Under?  You are! 

Well, actually people who live in Gallatin County. Of course stockholders stand to lose their investment but Sheehy is at risk of violating financial agreements resulting from a $160 million municipal bond agreement with Gallatin County which brought Bridger Aerospace’s long-term debt to $204.6 million.  The bond came with covenants that Bridger Aerospace must have the ability to cover debt with cash in the amount of at least $8 million.  If Sheehy defaults on the bond requirements, it appears Gallatin County could be on the hook.  

Bridger Aerospace said in the annual filing that it is out of compliance with the required debt service amount, and that it likely won’t be in compliance in the next 12 months. At the time of the report, the company apparently had the $8 million in cash but the report stated that it probably won’t in the future, because interest payments of $18.4 million are coming due soon. 

So, What Does It All Mean?

Of course all of this is complicated and confusing, so let us just boil it down a little for you.  Sheehy has a business in which 88% of his total income comes from the government in the form of firefighting contracts.  A big part of the way he has financed his operation comes from a Gallatin County bond offering.  We assume that means a lower interest rate, because they are government issued bonds.  Welcome to  “entrepreneurship” Tim Sheehy style. Step right up to the public trough and proclaim your commitment to private enterprise.  

Final Notes 

In the short time the public microscope has been on Tim Sheehy, he has not measured up.  In the last week he has admitted lying to law enforcement about an old bullet wound, and we have been treated to an inside glimpse of his business ethics. Unfortunately Montana voters don’t seem to care much about ethics, electing Ryan Zinke, Greg Gianforte, Matt Rosendale and Steve Daines, all coming from the cesspool the Republican Party has become. 

This post has been written largely with the information uncovered by the Montana Free Press and reporter Arren Kimbel-Sannit.  Though we did go through the SEC reports and Bridger Aerospace Investor Relations Report, the truth is we wouldn’t have understood most of it without Kimbel-Sannit’s reporting.