GREAT FALLS — Evening NightGun of Great Falls claims she was denied a routine return at Target because employees refused to acknowledge her federally recognized Tribal identification.
NightGun, a Blackfeet Nation member and new mother, went to the Target store in Great Falls recently to return things without a receipt.
When asked for photo identification, she showed her Tribal ID, which she says she has used without trouble her entire life.
NightGun explains what happened - watch the video:
"They asked for photo ID. I gave them my Tribal ID," NightGun explained. "He looked at it and said, 'We don't accept these here.' I asked, 'What do you mean?' He said, 'I can't accept this.'"
NightGun claims the employee called a supervisor over, who also refused to accept the ID. She offered to assist them in manually entering the information if necessary, but was unable to find it in their database.
"I said, 'Really?' I was like, 'Do you want me to show you how to manually put it in?'" she said.
NightGun had worked at Target in Missoula and claims to have used the same Tribal ID when employed, adding to the confusion.
"I was also really just in disbelief," she claimed. "Out of all my 28 years of living, this was the first time someone has ever denied my identification card—the Blackfeet Tribal ID."
Tribal IDs are legally-recognized forms of identification that can be used for various legal and commercial purposes throughout the United States.
When MTN News contacted Target's corporate offices for clarity, we received different responses. Some representatives indicated Tribal IDs were accepted, but others said they weren't.
Target has not yet released a formal statement about the incident or their company policy.
The encounter was especially traumatic for NightGun, who claims the situation cut short an already tough outing as a postpartum mother.
"It kind of ruined my whole shopping spree," she told me. "As a postpartum mom, that's where we go for diapers and baby supplies. At that point, I couldn't even shop. I just wanted to go home."
NightGun, who is currently studying law at the University of Arizona's Global Campus, shared her tale on TikTok, where it swiftly garnered attention, in the hopes of providing clarity and preventing others from going through the same experience.
"I wanted to put it out there because I don't want another Native American to go to Target and get declined and not be able to finish a transaction because they have a Tribal identification card," she told me.
Her video has garnered more than 7,000 views and received support from both the Blackfeet Nation and the Great Falls community.
Target hasn't contacted NightGun since the incident. She said she doesn't intend to shop there again.
Watch her TikTok video:
@eveningeuphoriaa Discrimination #montana#target#nativetiktok#IndigenousTikTok#tribalid @target ♬ original sound - Eve
