Nathan Phillips and Covington Catholic: An Indigenous woman’s view

By Zola Fish with M. Tiahui

Millions around the world were outraged by the scene of white teenagers wearing “Make America Great Again” caps harassing Native elder Nathan Phillips (Omaha Nation) as he was drumming and singing. It was captured on video after the Indigenous People’s March in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 19. Among other things, the racists circled around him and did “tomahawk chop” moves, mocked him and chanted “Build that wall!” referring to Donald Trump’s anti-migrant obsession that has furloughed federal workers and cut off government services for over a month.

Now, a racist backlash has set in, attempting to paint the Indigenous elder as the provocateur and the MAGA teens as victims of “fake news.” The charge is led by the white supremacist in chief, whose White House press secretary told reporters, “We’ve reached out and voiced our support” to the Covington students.

The kind of taunting and disrespect seen in the video is not new to Indigenous peoples. We are disrespected on a daily basis. In all too many areas, we have cans and other items hurled at us from the windows of passing vehicles. We are taunted by offensive costumes at Halloween, stereotypical roles in the media, and the use of sacred Native imagery and racist mascots for sports teams. We are taunted with erasure. This disrespect is a key part of settler colonialism and capitalism.