Kentucky's Covington Catholic High School's Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts are on lockdown this morning after a video was posted that shows a mob of students intimidating an Native American elder in front of the Lincoln Memorial Washington DC.
The all-male school was participating in a March for Life rally, which coincided with the Indigenous People's March. As shown in the video, the students have surrounded a Native American man playing a drum and are hooting war cries and mocking him. The elder's name is Nathan Phillips, a Vietnam veteran and an Omaha keeper of a sacred pipe.
One of the students gets very close to Phillip's face at stares at him with a disturbing grin for several minutes as Phillip's sings and beats the drum.
From Indian Country Today:
The elder is Nathan Phillips, an Omaha elder who is also a Vietnam Veteran and former director of the Native Youth Alliance. He is also a keeper of a sacred pipe and holds an annual ceremony honoring Native American veterans in the Arlington National Cemetery.
Phillips is also the subject of a previous racially-based incident when he was taunted and harassed by Eastern Michigan University students who were dressed stereo-typically as Native Americans. As reported in FOX 2 News, he was yelled at and hit by a thrown beer can.
Their history speaks for itself.
A direct line in disrespect, arrogance and bigotry pic.twitter.com/Vn71ybNjhp— Barbara Waxer
(@barbarawaxer) January 19, 2019
