The Arapahoe-area pastor who made headlines for a controversial sermon describing Northern Arapaho Tribal sundance rituals as idolatry, and urging fidelity to Jesus, has filed petitions for protection orders against two women who have led protests against her for two months, documents show.
Foundations For Nations Pastor Sarah Lucas told Cowboy State Daily harassing and threatening behavior from protest leaders Alice Thomas and Darci Quiver has been pronounced and ongoing.
Thomas said her behavior, rather, has been a combination of peaceful protest, “idle threats,” and “Native humor.”
Thomas and Quiver are slated for a court hearing Sept. 8.
But First –
Lucas preached on July 5 against a portion of the Sundance, which she characterized as praying to pipes. She urged tribal members to “tear down the idols” and trust in Jesus.
Cowboy State Daily has received differing accounts from tribal members about whether they pray to or with the “grandfather pipe,” which is a relic they believe represents the creator of the world.
Lucas’ church sits within the exterior boundaries of the Wind River Indian Reservation, but it’s on private, not tribal, land.
Outcry followed the sermon.
Thomas has led weekly protests on Rendezvous Road near the church. The Northern Arapaho tribal government announced a new policy banning “outside ministries” without prior approval. One iteration of the Eastern Shoshone Business Council – whose membership is disputed right now – echoed that.
Northern Arapaho Business Council Chair Keenan Groesbeck announced the council told the Lucases to leave the reservation.
The Saga
The Lucases remain. According to an Aug. 7 letter by Liberty Counsel attorneys Richard L Mast and D. Stephen Melchior, they’re defending “a clear line of respect for religious freedom.”
“Dialogue, not cancel culture, should rule the day here, resulting in an amicable resolution to this matter without the need for intervention by federal authorities or litigation,” says the letter.
The letter cites the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the Indian Civil Rights Act that holds tribal governments to that amendment and a few others, and deficiencies in the tribe’s theory that it can use a treaty clause to punish the Lucases.
Soon after the sermon, Thomas posted the Lucases’ address to Facebook, along with a publicly sourced photo of Lucas’ house.
Thomas told Cowboy State Daily at her July 26 protest outside the church she did that “because it’s public record.” She said she was transparent about it to the FBI, which contacted her about the doxxing, and that the FBI told her there’s no anti-doxxing law in Wyoming.
Thomas said in an in-person interview Thursday at the Riverton Branch Library that she leads the protests because she believes Lucas betrayed the trust of the Northern Arapaho people, many of whom Lucas befriended before her controversial sermon.
Lucas earlier provided Cowboy State Daily with screenshots showing Facebook users urging others to burn down the church. One shows a graphic of a Native American scalping a white-complected person, with the caption, “solidarity not charity.”
Another screenshot shows a man commenting, “Natives should absolutely use violence against these people because that’s what they have always done to us. That’s the basis of their faith.”
Presented with the screenshots Thursday, Thomas said her protests have been peaceful, but she can’t control others’ violent rhetoric. She also said she doesn’t recognize the commenters’ names as any of her protest regulars.
Thomas said she’ll keep protesting until Lucas leaves the reservation. But she said she'll do so on a different road leading to the church now that Lucas has asked a court to keep her far away from the church.
She acknowledged she had authored a post urging people to toilet-paper or apply used cat littler or dog poop to the Lucases’ home.
Thomas maintains that was an “idle threat” she made while upset, and also an example of “Native humor.”
“We try to find humor in everything,” Thomas said.
“I’m not stalking her. I don’t go to her house,” she continued. “I just feel like I’m being wrongly accused and I’ve been told by people that go to her church that she’s told everybody that I’m the agitator. And I’m the one that’s causing the problems.
“And I’m not. I’m just protesting.”
The Clash
Lucas disagrees with that characterization.
“There’s much more to the case than that,” she said. “There’s a packet. And we’ll present that to the judge.”
Lucas was reticent, saying she’d like to present the full weight of evidence in the court hearing, not before.
Both she and Thomas referenced other, tense encounters between Thomas and some of Lucas’ family, but they gave vastly different descriptions of how those unfolded.
Thomas said she doesn’t want protestors to converge on the court hearing, and will ask the judge to limit attendance to court parties.
Lucas responded to that with, “I think she’s trying to clean up her mess now and try to be kind after two months of harassment.”
Lucas said Quiver is Thomas’ “bestie,” and Quiver has been calling for a protest at the court.
Quiver did not call Cowboy State Daily upon request Thursday. She did, however, send photographs of the petition for a protection order with which she was served, and a video of a Fremont County Sheriff’s deputy serving it to her.
Quiver said she wanted to consult with the tribal attorneys before giving an interview.
Thomas told Cowboy State Daily that Quiver is her cousin, and that she does not condone many of Quiver’s “aggressive” methods.
Quiver often refers to Lucas as “Satan” in her Facebook posts.
As for Lucas, she said the two women are “together all the time. She’s (Thomas) just trying to clear her name.”
“Why not be that person the whole thing through? Why now be that person? Because now you’re going to be held accountable for your actions?” asked Lucas. “Then call the newspaper and cry victim. I don’t understand that.”
Cowboy State Daily reached out to Thomas after learning of the petitions. Thomas granted the outlet’s request for interview.
Lucas’ petition against Thomas asks for protection for herself, her husband, daughter, son, and daughter-in-law. She wants the court to order Thomas to stay “as far away as possible” from herself her home, her church, and her child’s school, the petition says.
The petition also requests protection for the food bank associated with the church and Lucas’ rental property.
Lucas' petition against Quiver says Quiver yells at the churchgoers and the Lucases and documents and posts their activities.
Lucas said Quiver yells at her family, records them, and posts this content along with other threats.
"I perceive this message as threatening and intimidating," wrote Lucas. "This conduct is particularly frightening because it is occurring in the context of threats that have been made to kill or physically harm me and threats to burn down our church."
Her Statement
Lucas’ affidavit says she’s known Thomas through her cousin for about eight years, and she and her husband, through their ministry, have helped Thomas occasionally.
After the sermon, Thomas “began repeatedly targeting me and my family through social media and in person,” the document says. “She posted insulting and disparaging statements about us and made accusations about us publicly.”
The affidavit alleges Thomas took photos of the Lucases’ home.
Thomas said that photo was from Google maps.
Lucas said the act made her concerned for her own family and another family, who rents from the Lucases.
“We stayed away from our home for approximately one week,” the statement says, adding that the Lucases removed their child from the home for about three weeks.
Lucas told Thomas that the post was not acceptable, and encouraged people to target their family, the affidavit says.
Thomas has shouted at churchgoers at the protests and displayed signs “that I consider threatening, degrading, or harassing,” the statement says. This has, Lucas added, caused distress and affected church members.
Lucas wrote that the fear from Thomas’ actions has changed her daily life significantly, and she no longer feels comfortable walking to or form her vehicle alone; her husband escorts her.
She reacts with immediate fear when she sees people walking past the windows of her home or church, Lucas wrote.
“Because Alice has repeatedly appeared in places where I live, worship, and regularly spend time, and because she photographed and publicly shared information about our property, seeing someone outside a window causes me to become fearful and concerned that Alice or someone acting because of her social media posts may be outside.”
About The Other Churches
Thomas’s frequent posts seem meant to create conflict and division between the Lucases’ church and the surrounding churches and community, the statement says.
Thomas rebutted that in her interview.
Desiree Henderson, who preaches at Foundations for Nations on occasion, had called out pastors of other churches during the church’s July 26 service, thanking them for their support amid the controversy.
“To my white friends, please tag your pastor friends,” wrote Thomas in a July 30 Facebook post, describing Henderson’s statements. “Because they are trying to divide the Reservation and the city of Riverton more than it already is.”
On Thursday, Thomas said, “The whole reason for my post was to let these churches know … (the controversy) could cause a rift.”
She said she believed the churches should know that by aligning with Foundations for Nations they may alienate their tribal congregants.
‘Paid Protestor’
Lucas’ statement says Thomas has admitted to being a paid protestor.
Thomas said Thursday she’s never been paid to protest.
Lucas’ statement concludes with a request that law enforcement document the incidents, investigate the conduct and advise Lucas what protections may be available “to prevent further unwanted contact, harassment, stalking, threats, publication of information intended to facilitate harassment, or interference with my family and our property.”
And, The History
Foundations for Nations incorporated in Wyoming and settled on the reservation in 2017.
It has offered child and youth ministries, food provision and other philanthropy.
The church was forthright about its mission. Its website calls it a multi-cultural, multi-generational church seeking for people to “have a relationship with God, be ignited to reach people with the good news about Jesus, and work together to impact communities.”
Its statement of belief says that Jesus is “the only way to heaven and the only name that can be called upon to gain eternal life.”
In a 2018 interview for a news feature, Lucas told local news outlet The Ranger that she and her family were building a massive play and recreation in the area of Arapahoe (town, not tribe). She said they would gear their ministry toward children who were having hardships at home.
“We inspire hope and change; we tell them their worth and their value” and teach them Biblical principles along the way, said Lucas at the time.
That summer the Lucases and visiting volunteers hosted a six-week summer program to offer kids what Lucas described as both fun and guidance.
Before launching the church, the Lucases planned it for six years. She said the goal was to help “families that are so broken that they don’t have any hope,” and to “share Jesus with them.”
A packet of information the Lucases’ attorneys provided to both the panels currently claiming to be the Eastern Shoshone Business Council paints a warmer picture of tribal leaders’ interactions with the church than the last two months have given.
Lucas coordinated a food drive with the Eastern Shoshone government in April of 2020 – just as the pandemic closures descended – and the tribe’s spokeswoman Alejandra Robinson called it an “excellent opportunity to receive food.” She asked if the Lucases could come to Fort Washakie as well as Ethete, the emails show.
Robinson asked for more clarity so she could get the word out to people.
Lucas reported back to another faith leader that May that Foundations for Nations volunteers or personnel had delivered 200 food boxes to the elderly across the reservation, then more at their own property.
A June 9, 2020, email by former NABC Chair Lee Spoonhunter says he supported the church’s kids’ summer program “on behalf of the Northern Arapaho Tribe.”
Spoonhunter urged masking, social distancing, and other precautions.
In another exchange in 2021, Spoonhunter thanked Lucas and said, “It really means a lot for all you do for our community.”
Sarah Lucas’ husband Jason Lucas reached out to Spoonhunter that May to coordinate approvals for the Kids Club.
One year after that, Lucas told tribal leaders the church was building a recreation center in Arapahoe and opening domestic violence services, the emails show.
The emails describe meetings, exchanges, approvals and philanthropic programs the church organized with tribal leaders’ blessing and/or coordination – for years.
Thomas voiced a dour view of these efforts.
“It makes me upset that this woman came in here and showed all the pretty surfaces,” said Thomas. “And got people to trust her, and then made people reliant on her, to only turn around and degrade the very people that she made reliant on her.”
Thomas added: “We became complacent. And she used it against us.”
Lucas has said in a past interview that she won’t apologize for her comments about the pipe or the sundance insofar as they were a faith statement pointing back to Jesus, but that she is sorry the words came off as an attack.
“But I am a Christian preacher. I am a pastor and I preach the full counsel of God’s word,” she said.
Lucas said at the time she’s not against the sundance altogether. She supports fasting and praying as a whole concept. But she understands the ceremony also involves “the worship of the pipe,” she said, adding that’s idolatry, and irreconcilable with the teaching that “Jesus is the only way.”
It is too late for an apology now anyway, Thomas countered Thursday.
A Little Legalese
Many Northern Arapaho Tribal members floated the idea of pursuing the tribal treaty’s “bad man” clause of the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty to punish the Lucases.
That treaty isn’t the one that established the Wind River Reservation, Liberty Counsel parried. The Eastern Shoshone Tribe was given that reservation in the 1863 and1868 Fort Bridger Treaties.
“The Northern Arapaho Tribe was not a party to those Treaties,” the attorneys wrote in their letter to the Eastern Shoshone government. “Only a tribe that is a party – or successor of a party – to a given treaty may assert rights under that treaty.”
The letter also says the theory misses the nature of the clause, as a means of addressing a wrong within the meaning of the treaty, and acts that could be prosecuted as crimes.
Referring to the Lucases’ religious rights and past court cases affirming religious rights on reservations, the letter says, “Neither Tribe here has the right to interfere with the quiet use and enjoyment of privately-owned property for religious worship.”
The letter emphasizes that the church owns its land.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
