The Northern Arapaho Tribe in Wyoming has voted, essentially, to impose its religious faith on outsiders who own private land inside the Wind River Reservation, in the next battle over the tribe’s rage at a Christian church there that teaches Christianity.
As documented in detail at the Cowboy State Daily, tribal officials have confirmed they have adopted a new policy demanding that ministries and charitable groups get tribal authorization for their work.
The Northern Arapaho Business Council posted its demands on social media this week.
The tribe says it is “reaffirming the Northern Arapaho Tribe’s inherent sovereign authority to require consultation and governmental authorizations seeking to conduct recurring ministries, charitable services, outreach programs, and other organized activities on lands under the jurisdiction of the Northern Arapaho Tribe.”
WordNetDaily had reported when the firestorm of anger erupted. It was shortly after a tribal festival that recognized tribal beliefs about a religiously significant prayer pipe.
Sarah Lucas, pastor of Foundations for Nations, a church operating on private land inside the reservation, serving people with children’s programs as well as a food pantry, had preached the foundational message of Christianity, that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation.
She pointed out praying “to pipes” is idolatry, explaining “a pipe cannot hear your prayers” and “we know that Jesus is enough.”
The church is inside the perimeter of the reservation but is on private land.
Days after a religious clash exploded on the Wind River Indian Reservation, the Northern Arapaho Tribe’s government says it has adopted a new policy requiring ministry and charitable groups to get tribal authorization for their work on the reservation.https://t.co/iRI6hhTq8N
— Cowboy State Daily (@daily_cowboy) July 21, 2026
The tribal announcement said the church never has obtained permission to operate and it has invited the church to meet.
But the Cowboy State Daily report noted the constitutionality of the tribe’s actions is debatable, as the First Amendment bars governments from prohibiting the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech or the freedom of people to assemble peaceably.
And Congress specifically imposed many of those government restrictions on Indian governments through the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968.
Council head Keenan Groesbeck said the policy “is not about preventing anyone from practicing their religion. It is about respecting the sovereign government of the Northern Arapaho Tribe. Any outside organization seeking to conduct organized activities within our jurisdiction should first communicate with the elected leadership of our Nation and work in partnership with the Tribe.”
There are further questions about what dictates tribes can impose on privately owned land.
One of those enraged by the Christian pastor at a Christian church delivering a message of Christianity was Christian Wassana, an enrolled Cheyenne Arapaho of Oklahoma, who played Martin Kills Many on “Yellowstone.”
He described the actions of Foundations for Nations church pastor Sarah Lucas as, “A pastor speaking at a church on the Rez in Wyoming condemning Sundance, one of our oldest and most sacred ceremonies.”
A video clip, showing the Christian pastor explaining that “Jesus is enough.”
Wassana’s posting exploded online, and he objected to the church’s statements about faith, claiming it “feels like history repeating itself, with attempts to erase and discredit our traditional way of life.”
He insisted that “claiming that one path is the only path while belittling and condemning ours is deeply disheartening,”
The report explained Wassana objected to the pastor’s references to tribal beliefs, “In the Northern Arapaho tribe, the flat pipe is associated with the creator, and some sun dance rituals center on the pipe and treat it as a sacred object.”
And Wassana complained that the Christian church is open to children.
