Native American dancers who were the target of a suburban Phoenix gallery owner’s racist rant as they were being filmed for Super Bowl week are pushing for hate crime charges.
Cody Blackbird performs inside Native Art Market in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Friday, Feb. 10, 2023. Native American dancers who were the target of a racist rant by Gilbert Ortega Jr., a suburban Phoenix gallery owner, as they were being filmed for Super Bowl week are pushing for hate crime charges. Blackbird, a dancer and flutist who filmed the man's tirade, said his group doesn't feel safe. The confrontation has ruined what should have been a celebratory week.
“Us performers are now going in different entrances and parking in different places. This man is known,” Blackbird said. “There’s a 10-year-old girl who was there. She’s forever imprinted with ‘This is what happened when the Super Bowl came to town.’” That's when Ortega started yelling at them, Blackbird said. In the video, Ortega can be seen mocking them and yelling “you Indians” at one point.
Disorderly conduct does not qualify for a hate crime designation under the FBI's definition, according to Scottsdale authorities. The FBI website describes a hate crime as “often a violent crime, such as assault, murder, arson, vandalism, or threats to commit such crimes.” Meanwhile, the video has gained traction on social media and brought unwanted attention to Scottsdale. Mayor David Ortega, who is not related to the gallery owner, called his behavior “reprehensible and inexcusable.”
“The family and employees of Ortega’s on the Plaza in Santa Fe condemn racism and discrimination in all forms,” Janelle Ortega said in a statement Thursday. “Furthermore, we consider it a great honor to carry and showcase the work of Indigenous artists and a privilege to support them in other important public and personal endeavors.”
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