Nathan Phillips has changed his mind on meeting with CovCath students.

He’s offering to travel as a delegate representing the international coalition behind the Indigenous Peoples March to Covington Catholic High School for a dialogue about cultural appropriation, racism and the importance of listening to and respecting diverse cultures, he said in a news release.

“Race relations in this country and around the world have reached a boiling point,” said Phillips. “It is sad that on the weekend of a holiday when we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., racial hostility occurred on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, where King gave his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech.”

Now, he says he’d like to use what occurred as a teachable moment.

Phillips and others were closing the Indigenous Peoples March with a prayer ceremony when, videos show two groups, Black Hebrew Israelites and the high school students, began arguing. Phillips said he approached and stepped between the two groups in an effort to quell the incident.

“I have read the statement from Nick Sandmann, the student who stared at me for a long time. He did not apologize, and I believe there are intentional falsehoods in his testimony,” Phillips continued. “But I have faith that human beings can use a moment like this to find a way to gain understanding from one another.”

Phillips expressed appreciation for the statements from the school and the mayor of Covington, who said mockery and taunting are not representative of the compassion, respect and other inclusive values they want to teach.

“So, let’s create space for the teaching of tolerance to happen,” he said.

Phillips, the Indigenous Peoples March and the Lakota People’s Law Project are preparing to make overtures to set up meetings with the students, their community and Catholic Church officials, they said.

Phillips has turned down Cincinnati restaurateur Jeff Ruby's invitation to "break bread and make amends" with Covington Catholic High School students.

On Monday, Ruby offered to fly Phillips first class to have dinner with the CovCath students at one of his high-end restaurants.

Over the weekend, short clips of an incident between students at the Park Hills all-boy high school and Phillips at the Indigenous Peoples March in Washington D.C. went viral.

Many social media users interpreted and Phillips maintains that the students were harassing him.

"It's not the right time," Phillips told The Enquirer on Monday night. "I might consider it at some point. There'd have to be certain assurances in place, give and take, and understanding."

Ruby said he was disappointed in the response.

"You know you can extend an olive branch or a hand grenade," he said. "I tried the olive branch. My invitation was made with good intentions but we have gotten backlash for it. But when you do something like this, you have to expect some negative reactions."

Ruby said he still plans to have a dinner for the CovCath students.

"We need more civility in this country," Ruby said. "I had hoped they could come together and leave with understanding instead of hate."

According to Phillips, however, "it's not yet the time" because of the statement released by CovCath student Nick Sandmann.

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In the viral video clips, Sandmann, a junior, is seen standing face to face with Phillips. As Phillips calmly beats a drum and chants a prayer, Sandmann stands smiling.

"He (Sandmann) needs to put out a different statement," said Phillips. "I'm disappointed with his statement. He didn't accept any responsibility. That lack of responsibility, I don't accept it."

Messages left for the Sandmann family, Covington Catholic and the Catholic Diocese of Covington were not returned Tuesday.

Phillips said that Sandmann's response has changed his mind on how he views the incident and what he hopes the outcome will be.

"At first I wanted the teachers and chaperones to be reprimanded, some fired, for letting this happen," Phillips said. "For the students, I was against any expulsions, but now I have to revisit that."

According to Phillips, the national attention he has received hasn't had much sway on him. The incident hasn't really either, he said, but Sandmann's statement has.

"This is our youth," he said. "These (CovCath) students may be from a different culture, a different race, but I'm American and they are American. This is our youth, American youth. Is this the future we got?"

Phillips said he's ready to "work toward a better America," that was one reason he was participating in the Indigenous Peoples March.

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Phillips said he was in prayer when he approached the CovCath students. His goal was to defuse a "volatile" situation between the students and four members of the Black Hebrew Israelites.

"He (Sandmann) stole my narrative," Phillips said. "From the time I hit that first beat of the drum until I hit the last beat, I was in prayer. Now all of a sudden, he's the prayer guy and the passive one."

Phillips is referring to Sandmann's statement: "I believed that by remaining motionless and calm, I was helping to diffuse (sic) the situation. I realized everyone had cameras and that perhaps a group of adults was trying to provoke a group of teenagers into a larger conflict. I said a silent prayer that the situation would not get out of hand."

Phillips also took issue that Sandmann refers to him and fellow marchers as "Native American protesters."

"I take great offense to that term, 'protester.' We were not protesting anything," Phillips said. "In fact, we were the only group with a permit to be there and we were marching for solidarity and for being indigenous people. We were there in prayer. We wanted to make a better America."

Phillips said the CovCath students were coming from a protest. The students had participated in the March for Life event.

"What he came to town for was protesting," Phillips said. "Anyone who knows about Roe versus Wade knows it isn't a pretty picture. He (Sandmann) had just come from that protest. To me, he came worked up in a frenzy already."

Phillips said the argument between the students and the Black Hebrew Israelites went on for hours before he "was called by God" to step in.

"(The students) had an opportunity to not hate and to put out an olive branch and say, let's sit down and pray together," he said. "Instead, they responded to hate with hate. And (Sandmann) transferred that hate to me."

Phillips said, describing the interaction between the CovCath students and the Black Hebrew Israelites, "it was like a tornado."​

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The Enquirer's Max Londberg contributed to this story.