(Wind River Reservation, WY) – The Northern Arapaho Business Council (NABC) announced today, Monday, July 20, that it has adopted a new policy that would require “outside organizations,” like Foundations for Nations Ministry, to consult with the Tribe before conducting organized activities on the Wind River Reservation, according to a release issued on the Northern Arapaho Tribe Facebook page.
The policy comes in light of comments made by Ministry pastor Sarah Lucas during her July 5 sermon, concerning the Northern Arapaho’s sacred, ceremonial peace pipe and the Sundance ceremony, which sparked backlash from the Tribal community and its supporters. Foundations for Nations is located on fee land within the borders of the Wind River Reservation, on Mission Road.
The Policy
The release states that the policy “(reaffirms) the Northern Arapaho Tribe’s inherent sovereign authority to require consultation and governmental authorization for outside organizations seeking to conduct recurring ministries, charitable services, outreach programs, and other organized activities on lands under the jurisdiction of the Northern Arapaho Tribe.”
The release informs that as part of implementing this policy, the Northern Arapaho Records Department “conducted an extensive review of official Tribal records to determine whether Foundations For Nations had ever received authorization from the Northern Arapaho Business Council to conduct recurring organized ministry or outreach activities on the Reservation,” and that the review “found no Tribal resolution, memorandum of understanding, permit, agreement, correspondence, or other official action granting such authorization.”
That release further states that NABC Chairman Keenan Groesbeck has formally notified Foundations For Nations that the Tribe “requests consultation before any expansion of recurring ministry activities under the new policy,” and has “invited the organization to meet with the Business Council within ten days to discuss its mission, leadership, funding, activities, and any documentation it believes demonstrates authorization to operate on lands under Tribal jurisdiction.”
The release is available in full below.
The Northern Arapaho Business Council (NABC) has adopted a new Tribal policy reaffirming the Northern Arapaho Tribe’s inherent sovereign authority to require consultation and governmental authorization for outside organizations seeking to conduct recurring ministries, charitable services, outreach programs, and other organized activities on lands under the jurisdiction of the Northern Arapaho Tribe.
The policy recognizes that the Northern Arapaho Tribe has both the responsibility and the authority to protect the health, welfare, cultural identity, governmental integrity, and traditional ways of life of the Northern Arapaho people. While the Tribe respects the individual constitutional rights of all persons to practice their faith, the Tribe also has the sovereign right to determine how outside organizations engage with Tribal government and Tribal citizens when conducting organized activities on the Reservation.
As part of implementing this policy, the Northern Arapaho Records Department conducted an extensive review of official Tribal records to determine whether Foundations For Nations had ever received authorization from the Northern Arapaho Business Council to conduct recurring organized ministry or outreach activities on the Reservation. That review found no Tribal resolution, memorandum of understanding, permit, agreement, correspondence. or other official action granting such authorization.
Chairman Keenan Groesbeck has formally notified Foundations For Nations that the Tribe requests consultation before any expansion of recurring ministry activities under the new policy. The Tribe has invited the organization to meet with the Business Council within ten days to discuss its mission, leadership, funding, activities, and any documentation it believes demonstrates authorization to operate on lands under Tribal jurisdiction.
“This policy is not about preventing anyone from practicing their religion,” said Chairman Keenan Groesbeck. “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.”
The Business Council noted that this policy reflects longstanding principles of Tribal sovereignty recognized under federal law and is intended to ensure that organizations operating on the Reservation do so with transparency, accountability, and respect for the Northern Arapaho people and government.
The Business Council further recognizes the historical relationship between many Christian institutions and Native Nations, including the devastating legacy of forced assimilation, boarding schools, and efforts to suppress Indigenous languages, cultures, and spiritual traditions. These historical experiences make it especially important that any outside organization engaging with the Northern Arapaho people do so through respectful government-to-government consultation and with a full understanding of Tribal history, culture, and sovereignty.
The Northern Arapaho Business Council emphasized that this policy will apply uniformly to outside organizations seeking to conduct recurring organized activities on lands under Tribal jurisdiction. The policy establishes a clear governmental process that promotes communication, protects Tribal interests, and encourages collaborative relationships built upon mutual respect.
“Our responsibility is to protect our people, our culture, and our sovereign authority,” Chairman Groesbeck said. “Organizations wishing to work within our community are welcome to engage with the Tribe through the appropriate governmental process. Respect for Tribal sovereignty is the foundation of any successful partnership.”
The Northern Arapaho Business Council remains committed to working with organizations that respect Tribal law, Tribal leadership, and the self-determination of the Northern Arapaho people.
The Sermon and the Backlash
As stated above, the policy follows comments Lucas made during her July 5 sermon at Foundations for Nations Ministries, which became widely available after video clips of the service were distributed online.
“…This nation gathered this week and they prayed, and they prayed to pipes and prayed to the ancestors, believing that this is the way for their freedom, to get free from addiction, for people to be healed from their sickness… this is what this culture did this week,” Lucas said during the service in reference to the recent Sundance ceremony. “…We’re going to pray for our indigenous nation, our tribe this week as we’re coming out of this, because we know that Jesus is enough. He’s enough. It’s not Jesus plus, it’s Jesus everything. He’s everything.”
“Jesus is the chain breaker,” Lucas continued. “He is the only God that we should be praying to. A pipe cannot hear your prayers. It’s just a piece of material. Right? And this is the cycle that they’re caught up in…”
The comments resulted in online backlash, multiple community protests, and pushback from local Tribal members.
Lucas went on to meet with Tribal officials on July 10, where NABC members and Tribal elders told her that she and Foundations for Nations were no longer welcome to conduct services on the Wind River Reservation. Despite the directive, Lucas sent a letter to Ministry members stating that “the Gospel will continue to be preached,” and continued with that weekend’s service. Lucas also indicated that she would take the matter to court, and told County 10 at the time that she “cannot apologize for preaching what I believe God’s Word teaches,” despite acknowledging that her “message about idol worship caused pain within the Native community.”
County 10 reached out to Lucas Monday afternoon to confirm whether she had seen the policy release, if she planned to meet with the Tribe as directed, whether Foundations for Nations plans to continue services, and if she has officially filed a lawsuit as she had previously mentioned. Lucas stated that she is “no longer speaking to media outlets.”
National Tribal Response
The situation has continued to gain national attention, most recently with the American Indian Movement (AIM) Montana chapter. (AIM is an indigenous civil rights organization founded in Minneapolis in 1968.)
In a letter addressed directly to Lucas and her husband/co-pastor Jason, Debbie McShane and Lance Four Star (Director and Co-Director of the Montana American Indian Movement, American Indian Movement Grand Governing Council) stated that they “formally demand that Foundations For Nations immediately cease operations, pack up, and permanently leave the Wind River Indian Reservation.”
The full letter is available below.
On behalf of the American Indian Movement (AIM) Montana Chapter, and in absolute solidarity with the sovereign peoples of the Northern Arapaho Tribe, the Eastern Shoshone Tribe, and the entire Wind River community, we are writing to formally demand that Foundations For Nations immediately cease operations, pack up, and permanently leave the Wind River Indian Reservation.
Your presence is no longer tolerated, nor is it welcome.
On July 5th, 2026, while the sacred Northern Arapaho Sundance ceremony was drawing to its close, Sarah Lucas stood before your congregation and chose to launch a deeply derogatory, arrogant, and public attack on our sacred traditional ways. By calling our oldest spiritual ceremonies a false “idol” and claiming that centuries of our ancestors’ prayers and offerings have produced “no fruit,” your organization exposed the true, destructive nature of your presence on Indigenous land.
These words are not merely “differing theological opinions”; they are a direct continuation of the violent, colonial mindset that has sought to destroy our people for centuries. Your rhetoric directly echoes the dark history of the federal Indian boarding school era—a painful chapter where our children were stolen, abused, and stripped of their languages, identities, and spiritual practices under the exact same banner of “civilizing” and “saving” us.
To have an invited guest on our ancestral lands belittle and try to erase the very traditions that have kept our people alive through generations of genocide is completely unacceptable. Our ceremonies, our Sundance, and our relationship with the Creator were given to us long before your organization existed. They are the heartbeat of our survival, our healing, and our sovereignty.
Your recent statements doubling down on these insults and threatening to fight the sovereign tribal orders of the Northern Arapaho Business Council in federal court demonstrate a complete and utter lack of respect for tribal sovereignty.
Indigenous land is not a playground for colonial savior complexes, nor is it a space where you can actively work to dismantle the cultural identity of our youth under the guise of charity. The people of Wind River have spoken. The leadership has spoken. And the American Indian Movement of Montana stands shoulder-to-shoulder with them to ensure that voice is respected. Pack your things, drop your legal threats, and depart from the Wind River Reservation immediately.
Members of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe in Montana also recently spoke out against Lucas’s words.
In a letter shared on the Grassroots People-Northern Cheyenne Facebook page, Tribal members said that the group “stands with our relatives Northern Arapaho Nation.”
To Pastor Sarah Lucas
We issue this statement as Indigenous People and followers of Jesus Christ. Our group stands with our relatives Northern Arapaho Nation.
We will fiercely defend the right to share the word of God. At the same time, we firmly oppose using the name of God to condemn, mock, or publicly shame other religions, Indigenous cultures, or the sacred traditions of Native peoples.
The Gospel does not require ridicule to proclaim truth. Jesus Christ never relied on humiliation to draw people to God. He spoke with authority, yet also with humility, compassion, and love. Those who claim to follow Him are called to reflect that same character.
This responsibility carries particular weight in Native communities. Indigenous peoples continue to live with the legacy of forced assimilation, the suppression of our spiritual and cultural practices, and abuses committed by individuals and institutions claiming to act in the name of Christianity. Publicly condemning Indigenous beliefs without respect risks reopening those wounds and can be perceived as a continuation of spiritual oppression rather than an expression of Christ’s love.
Sarah Lucas, you have the right to hold and express your biblical convictions. However, biblical conviction is never a license for disrespect. One can proclaim Jesus Christ without belittling the beliefs, identity, or dignity of others. Disagreement should never become contempt.
We will continue to stand unapologetically for Jesus Christ while also standing for the dignity, humanity, and rights of Indigenous people. These principles are not in conflict. Scripture teaches that every person is created in the image of God and is therefore worthy of honor, respect, and compassion.
We call upon all who profess the Christian faith to proclaim the Gospel in a manner that reflects the character of Christ—truth without arrogance, conviction without hostility, and love without compromise.