Listen to Nathan Phillips speak gently here, after the MAGA boys surrounded him.

And watch him quietly wipe away tears.




https://www.instagram.com/p/Bsy9_7WFDQO/#author_ka_ya11


If you're not on Instagram, he's in the 3rd video in this Buzzfeed article.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/juliareinstein/teens-taunted-native-american-elder-indigenous-peoples-march

One of the teens can be seen standing face-to-face with the elder, smirking and saying nothing, while the man sang and played a drum.

The indigenous protester was identified by Indian Country Today as Nathan Phillips, a member of the Omaha Nation and a Vietnam War veteran. He reportedly hosts a ceremony each year honoring Native American veterans at Arlington National Cemetery and is also the keeper of a sacred pipe.

Kaya Taitano, a 26-year-old student from Guam told BuzzFeed News she filmed the videos of Phillips. "You can tell he has power in his being," she said in a phone interview.

In an interview with Taitano following the incident that she uploaded to her Instagram, Phillips said he wished he could see those teens "put that energy into making this country really great, helping those that are hungry."

"I heard them saying, 'Build that wall, build that wall,'" said Phillips, who could not be immediately reached for comment. "You know, this is indigenous lands. We’re not supposed to have walls here — we never did for millennia, before anybody else came here."