- Details
- By Levi Rickert
NEW YORK — On Tuesday, CNN settled a lawsuit brought on behalf of Nicholas Sandmann, who made national news last January after he stood face-to-face with Nathan Phillips, an Omaha elder from Ypsilanti, Michigan at the Lincoln Memorial.
The terms of the settlement were not disclosed by either party on Tuesday.
Want more Native News? Get the free daily newsletter today.
CNN, along with several other national media, reported on an apparent confrontation with a group of students from Covington Catholic School in Convington, Kentucky, who were in Washington, D.C. last January 18, 2019, to attend an annual March of Life rally. The high school students were in the area at the Lincoln Memorial waiting for a bus when the group met up with remnants of the Indigenous Peoples March that had just concluded.
Wearing red "Make America Great Again" caps, the Covington high schoolers were reportedly being taunted by a group of black men who identified as members of the Black Hebrew Israelites.
Phillips began drumming the American Indian Movement anthem. He later said he was trying the defuse the situation between the high schoolers and the Black Hebrew Israelites. Caputured on a video that went viral on social media, and then picked up by CNN, was a young Sandmann in what appeared to be a face-to-face standoff with Phillips.
By March 2019, attorneys representing Sandmann sued CNN. The lawsuit contended: "CNN brought down the full force of its corporate power, influence, and wealth on Nicholas by falsely attacking, vilifying, and bullying him despite the fact that he was a minor child."
Later, the Washington Post and NBC Universal were sued. The lawsuits are still pending.
More Stories Like This
Navajo Nation Leaders Recognized the Fallen on Memorial DayThis Day in History — May 28, 1830, Andrew Jackson Signs Indian Removal Act
Native News Weekly (May 28, 2023): D.C. Briefs
Oklahoma Legislature Overrides Governor Stitt’s Veto of Native Regalia Bill
Native Bidaské with Lummi Nation Chairman Anthony Hillaire on the Opioid Crisis
Native News is free to read.
We hope you enjoyed the story you've just read. For the past dozen years, we’ve covered the most important news stories that are usually overlooked by other media. From the protests at Standing Rock and the rise of the American Indian Movement (AIM), to the ongoing epidemic of Murdered and Missing Indigenous People (MMIP) and the past-due reckoning related to assimilation, cultural genocide and Indian Boarding Schools.
Our news is free for everyone to read, but it is not free to produce. That’s why we’re asking you to make a donation to help support our efforts. Any contribution — big or small — helps. Most readers donate between $10 and $25 to help us cover the costs of salaries, travel and maintaining our digital platforms. If you’re in a position to do so, we ask you to consider making a recurring donation of $12 per month to join the Founder's Circle. All donations help us remain a force for change in Indian Country and tell the stories that are so often ignored, erased or overlooked.
Donate to Native News Online today and support independent Indigenous journalism. Thank you.
