Students’ Mocking(?) of Indian Dance Draws Debate

A Catholic school in Kentucky joined state and national leadership over the weekend in condemning the actions of some of its students' treatment of a Native American in Washington, DC.

The Lexington, Kentucky Herald-Leader reports Covington Catholic High School in Park Hills and the Diocese of Covington have issued apologies for the student's open mocking of an American Indian demonstrator Friday.

The students were in town for the so-called March For Life, an anti-abortion demonstration. The indigenous Peoples' March took place the same day.

A number of videos online show one young man in a "Make America Great Again" hat stand for an extended period nearly toe-to-toe with the Native American demonstrator who was beating a drum. The youth periodically leered while other young men around him cheered and laughed.

The American Indian is Nathan Phillips, and activist and Viet Nam War veteran.

One reported that while Mr. Phillips was singing the Native American national Anthem, a group of the boys chanted, "make America great again," and "build that wall."

The mayor of Covington and the Kentucky Secretary of State were among the public figures who issued statement condemning the students' actions.

UPDATE: In fairness, here's an opposing position on the issue, suggesting the incident is more complicated than we've been led to believe.

[Source: Lexington Herald-Leader]