The Indigenous Peoples March was held last Friday on January 18th at the Lincoln Memorial. A horrific scene was recorded that showed a group of white, male teens mocking and harassing Native American’s that were participating in the march. The video showed footage of Omaha tribe elder, Nathan Phillips performing a healing prayer that involved playing a drum and chanting. This was then met with ignorant, fake chanting from the group of teens wearing “Make America Great Again” hats. One particular teen was seen staring right at Phillips with a smirk on his face the entire time as his counter parts recorded the incident and jeered him on.
This video garnered a lot of attention on social media. Many people tweeted the video in anger and demanded consequences for the young men. Activist, Shaun King posted the video saying, “When your power is centered in your whiteness, mocking others who are unlike you makes you feel strong.” This powerful statement summed up the current divide in America.
After the video went viral and received massive backlash from the public, the mother of the boy filmed harassing Phillips came out with a statement. She blamed “black Muslims” for the incident, claiming that they had instigated everything when they began harassing the Trump supporters themselves. She also was quoted telling heavy.com that Phillips had approached her son and was drumming in his face. Further research revealed that the apparent religious group had been making homophobic charged statements against the young men.
Those who were at the event said that Phillips began the drumming as a way to maintain peace within both groups. Such deep-rooted racism in young men is something that is taught from a young age. It is evident that the problems in America run beyond the qualms of the current generation and the ignorant racism must be unlearned.