It was getting ugly: the Native American who faced down his tormentors

Catholic Americans show what they are made of (ODT)

In them, a Native American man steadily beats his drum at the end of an Indigenous Peoples March on Friday while singing a song of unity for indigenous people to “be strong” in the face of the ravages of colonialism that now include police brutality, poor access to health care and the ill effects of climate change on reservations.

Surrounding him is a throng of young, mostly white teenage boys, several wearing Make America Great Again caps, with one standing about 30 centimetres from the drummer’s face also wearing a relentless smirk.
Native American Indian elder Nathan Phillips is taunted by Covington Catholic High School students wearing Make America Great Again caps near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington.

Native American Indian elder Nathan Phillips is taunted by Covington Catholic High School students wearing Make America Great Again caps near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. Credit:Twitter

Nathan Phillips, a veteran in the indigenous rights movement, was that man in the middle.
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Phillips, 64, said on Saturday he felt threatened by the teens and that they suddenly swarmed around him as he and other activists were wrapping up the march and preparing to leave.

Phillips, who was singing the American Indian Movement song of unity that serves as a ceremony to send the spirits home, said he noticed tensions beginning to escalate when the teens and other apparent participants from the nearby March for Life rally began taunting the dispersing indigenous crowd.

via It was getting ugly: the Native American who faced down his tormentors