Native News
Montana Senatorial Candidate Refers to Native Americans as “Pets”
During a senatorial forum in Billings, Montana, on Friday, October 23, 2026, Libertarian candidate Kyle Austin referred to Native peoples as “pets” while responding to a question about the disproportionate rates of maternal mortality among American Indian families compared with white residents.
“If someone is a pet of society, they will always be a pet of society in the future, and that is why you have to change how you vote. Because the far left has always kept you a pet of society and dependent on the federal government,” Austin said, referring to Tribal citizens in Montana.
Austin is on the ballot in the race to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT). The other candidates are Republican Kurt Alme, Democrat Alani Bankhead and independent Seth Bodnar.
Late Friday evening, Bodnar posted a video on social media that appeared to show Bankhead laughing following Austin’s answer.
“I’m appalled and disgusted. Tonight, the Libertarian candidate called Native Americans ‘pets,’ and the candidate on the Democratic ticket, Alani Bankhead, laughed along,” Bodnar said in his post. “Both should be ashamed. These comments are degrading and dehumanizing, and they have no place in Montana or anywhere else. Native Americans deserve respect and dignity, and I will ALWAYS stand with them.”
Native News Online asked the Bankhead campaign about the video Bodnar posted. The campaign disputed his characterization of the moment and provided the following response:
In the organizers’ full livestream of the Billings maternal health forum, Alani isn’t smiling while Kyle Austin says “pet of society.” The smile in Bodnar’s clip comes seconds later, after Austin finished. She and Austin had been talking before the forum, and a bit of that conversation carried into it. It shouldn’t have, and it had nothing to do with what he’d just said.
Neither of them was listening closely. Alani thought Austin was saying “dependent,” the word his whole answer was built on. Bodnar spoke next, and his first words were “Can you repeat the question?” He said nothing about the remark until his campaign posted the attack that night, in a clip that crops him out of the frame.
Once she learned what Austin had said, she condemned more than the word. The federal government’s relationship with tribal nations is long and complicated, and whatever word he used, the government has an obligation to do right by them. In her words, his comment “was wrong and reflected a serious misunderstanding of tribal sovereignty and the federal government’s relationship with tribal nations.” As she put it, “Friendship doesn’t mean agreement.”
It was about the tenth forum Alani and Austin had done together. Two minutes earlier, answering the same question, Alani said “the federal government does not respect brown people” and made restoring tribal health care one of her top priorities.
Native Advocate Condemns the Remark
Tom Rodgers (Blackfeet), whose spirit name is “One Who Rides His Horse East,” is a Montana Native and longtime Washington, D.C., advocate for Native Americans and Tribal issues. He expressed outrage over Austin’s characterization of Native peoples.
Rodgers told Native News Online that he has witnessed and endured incredible ignorance, repugnant racism and craven cruelty toward Native Americans in Montana throughout his life.
“We have been called drunks by a politician and former soldier during the last election. We have been denied sacred polling locations by another politician. We have been told that Indians need to stay out of federal elections by another politician. We are now called ‘pets’ by another politician,” Rodgers said.
Montana Senate Race Remains Contentious
Despite the controversy surrounding Austin’s remarks, he is polling at just 2%, according to the latest Quantus Insights poll.
The Montana U.S. Senate race has also become a bitter intraparty battle, with prominent Democrats backing independent candidate Bodnar over Bankhead. Bodnar, a former University of Montana president and Green Beret, has attracted support from former Democratic Sens. Jon Tester and Max Baucus, as well as former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Bodnar’s supporters argue that he can appeal to moderate Republicans and independents in a state where Republicans have dominated statewide elections. They fear that Bankhead and Bodnar will divide voters opposed to Alme.
The conflict escalated after Bankhead won the Democratic primary in June. Rather than rally behind her, Democratic lawmakers and party leaders urged her to withdraw and consolidate support behind Bodnar. Critics have questioned her campaign’s resources, political positions and ability to win, while Bodnar has benefited from stronger fundraising and prominent endorsements.
The controversy has also drawn attention to conservative super PAC spending that helped Bankhead during the primary, fueling suspicions among some Democrats that Republican interests saw an advantage in her nomination.
In the latest Quantus Insights poll, Alme leads the field with 46%, followed by Bodnar with 29% and Bankhead with 21%. Austin trails the other candidates at 2%.
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