Enlarge The two Native American brothers were wearing Cattle Decapitation and Archspire gear.

Two Native American Metalhead Brothers Pulled From Campus Tour After Nervous Mother Calls Police

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Thomas Kanewakeron Gray, 19, and his brother Lloyd Skanahwati Gray, 17, were pulled from a campus tour at Colorado State University this past Monday after a “nervous” parent on the tour called the police on them, concerned they looked suspicious, in a blatant incident of racial and metalhead profiling.

The brothers were Native American from the Mohawk tribe, and donned metal garb featuring Cattle Decapitation and Archspire. They had saved up their money to make the seven-hour drive to the campus tour for prospective students only to be taken aside, patted down and questioned by police. The tour had moved on and they were unable to link back up with it after police finally allowed them to continue. They headed back to the admissions office and were told nothing could be done, so they simply embarked on the long trip back home.

The concerned parent called 911 and reported that the two boys’ quiet behavior and clothing stood out. She said they were “definitely not” a part of the tour, described their behavior as “odd” and said their clothing featured “dark stuff.”

“I think it’s pretty discriminatory,” said Thomas, the older brother, who is a current student at Northern New Mexico College and is thinking about transferring to CSU. “Me and my brother just stayed to ourselves the whole time. I guess that was scaring people — that we were just quiet.”

The university’s president, Dr. Tony Frank, issued a lengthy statement on the matter, saying:

“Two young men, through no fault of their own, wound up frightened and humiliated because another campus visitor was concerned about their clothes and overall demeanor, which appears to have simply been shyness. The very idea that someone — anyone — might ‘look’ like they don’t belong on a C.S.U. admissions tour is anathema.”

Dr. Frank said efforts to contact the family to make right have so far been unsuccessful, and that the university would be reviewing its policies for how they manage campus tours.

The incident follows others tied to racism and hate groups in the past year, including a paper noose found hanging in a residence hall.

The brothers play in a death metal band called Snot Goblin. Stream their latest release below or via Bandcamp.

Cattle Decapitation responded to the incident yesterday on Facebook by promising the brothers free admission to their shows for life.

You can download audio of the 911 call here and watch one of the officers’ body-cam footage of the incident (no audio for the first 30 seconds) below:

[via The Washington Post and New York Times]

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