“When I was there singing, I heard them saying, ‘build that wall! build that wall!’”
Students and the leadership from a Kentucky all-male Catholic high school are under fire after videos showing a Native American, a Vietnam veteran, appearing to be harassed, intimidated, and insulted during the Indigenous Peoples March in Washington, D.C. on Saturday.
In videos that went viral, one student in particular can be seen standing extremely close to Nathan Phillips, a 64-year old Vietnam veteran, Native American elder, and activist who is also the previous director of the Native Youth Alliance, The Washington Post reports.
Phillips is “a ‘keeper of a sacred pipe,’ who leads an annual ceremony honoring Native American veterans in Arlington National Cemetery, according to Indian Country Today.”
The videos (some below) show students in Covington Catholic High School clothing, many wearing iconic red Trump campaign “MAGA,” or, “Make America Great Again” hats, scarves, and sweatshirts. Their names and ages are not known, nor has it been established that all attend Covington Catholic.
(NCRM in the image above has chosen to partially blur their faces as they are presumably minors not charged by law enforcement with a crime.)
They appear to be mimicking and mocking Phillips and the other Native Americans, while surrounding several of the marchers. They can be seen shouting, jumping about, and otherwise disrespecting the participants, and detracting from the ceremony.
“When I was there singing, I heard them saying, ‘build that wall! build that wall!’” Phillips, who looks saddened and appears to be wiping away tears, says in the video below. “This is indigenous land—not supposed to have walls here. We never [did] for millennium.”
“Before anybody else came here, you never had walls, you never had a prison,” he can be heard saying. “We always too care of our elders. We took care of our children.”
The students had traveled from Northern Kentucky, home of Covington Catholic High School, to the nation’s capital, to attend the anti-choice March for Life, an annual event organized by the far right that attracts activists working to suppress women’s healthcare rights.
Phillips, in an interview with The Washington Post, “said he felt threatened by the teens and that they suddenly swarmed around him as and other activists were wrapping up the march and preparing to leave.”
“It was getting ugly, and I was thinking: ‘I’ve got to find myself an exit out of this situation and finish my song at the Lincoln Memorial,’ ” Phillips recalled. “I started going that way, and that guy in the hat stood in my way and we were at an impasse. He just blocked my way and wouldn’t allow me to retreat.”
So, he kept drumming and singing, thinking about his wife, Soshana, who died from bone marrow cancer nearly four years ago, and the various threats that face indigenous communities around the world, he said.
After shuttering its social media accounts, Covington Catholic High School released a statement apologizing and promising to investigate.
“We condemn the actions of the Covington Catholic High School students towards Nathan Phillips specifically, and Native Americans in general, Jan. 18, after the March for Life, in Washington, D.C. We extend our deepest apologies to Mr. Phillips. This behavior is opposed to the Church’s teachings on the dignity and respect of the human person,” the statement reads, as NBC affiliate WLWT reports.
“The matter is being investigated and we will take appropriate action, up to and including expulsion.We know this incident also has tainted the entire witness of the March for Life and express our most sincere apologies to all those who attended the March and all those who support the pro-life movement.”
Yahoo News added important context, noting for people attending the Indigenous Peoples March “it’s an especially fraught time as the government shutdown is interfering with many basic services for Native Americans. This comes months after the Supreme Court ruled against Native voting rights in North Dakota, and just days after the president cracked jokes on Twitter about historic massacres.”
UPDATE: Editor’s note – There has been a great deal of debate across the nation, especially as more and longer videos appear, as to what exactly happened. The students of Covington Catholic strongly deny they were being disrespectful or harassing Nathan Phillips. Many believe Phillips’ version of events, and say the new and longer videos support their conclusions.