By Taylor Weiter, Associated Press
WASHINGTON — A Native American seen in viral videos of Kentucky high school students seemingly mocking people during the Indigenous Peoples March in Washington on Friday is now speaking about the event.
Marcus Frejo of the Pawnee and Seminole tribes said he was with a small group remaining after the rally when Covington Catholic students began chanting slogans such as "Make America great" and then doing the haka, a traditional Maori dance.
One 11-minute video of the confrontation shows the haka dance and students loudly chanting before Phillips and Frejo approached them.
In a phone interview, Frejo told The Associated Press he felt they were mocking the dance and also heckling a couple of black men nearby. He approached the group with Nathan Phillips, the drummer seen in the videos, to defuse the situation.
Multiple videos posted on social media show the CovCath students surrounding the Native Americans as they sang the anthem from the American Indian Movement, several laughing at them. One person in a "Make America Great Again" hat stands within inches of the face of Phillips, staring and smiling at him.
A video from the opposite angle shows several students in "Make America Great Again" and Covington Catholic apparel chanting and laughing behind the marchers, as they continue to drum and sing.
Phillips told The Washington Post that when the student stood in front of him, he decided to keep singing and drumming.
Frejo said that he feared the mob mentality could turn ugly, but briefly felt a calm fall over the group.
"They went from mocking us and laughing at us to singing with us. I heard it three times," Frejo said. "That spirit moved through us, that drum, and it slowly started to move through some of those youths."
Several celebrities and public figures responded to the videos, with Native American Congresswoman Deb Haaland calling the students' action "blatant hate, disrespect, and intolerance."
This Veteran put his life on the line for our country. The students’ display of blatant hate, disrespect, and intolerance is a signal of how common decency has decayed under this administration. Heartbreaking. https://t.co/NuPnYu9FP4
— Congresswoman Deb Haaland (@RepDebHaaland) January 19, 2019
Chris Evans, better known as Captain America, called the situation appalling and "sadly on brand." He is an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump.
This is appalling. The ignorance. The gall. The disrespect. It’s shameful. And sadly on brand. When something like this isnt even surprising, it’s evidence to our place in the cycle of recreating our darker chapters. That Native American man showed incredible strength and dignity https://t.co/Im4KLw3sV7
— Chris Evans (@ChrisEvans) January 19, 2019
Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes released a statement on the videos, saying that this type of action is not the Kentucky she knows.
"In spite of these horrific scenes, I refuse to shame these children. Instead I turn to the adults that are teaching them and those that are silently letting others promote this behavior," Lundergan Grimes posted on Facebook. "We can do better and it starts with better leadership."
School and church officials apologized to Phillips, an Omaha elder and Vietnam veteran in a joint statement with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington. Some of the students from the private, all-male high school in Park Hills, Kentucky, were in Washington for the March for Life, an annual anti-abortion rally happening on the same day as the Indigenous Peoples March.
Laura Keener of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington said Saturday it regrets the incident and is investigating the videos.
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