COVINGTON, Ky. — (ABC NEWS) -- Sandmann also accused Phillips of targeting him without reason, but the Native American veteran defended his actions in an interview airing Tuesday on "Good Morning America," saying Sandmann's group had participated in a "vile" back-and-forth with a separate group of protesters earlier, which is why he stepped in.
"This happened for two or three hours before I found myself in the middle of that," Phillips told "GMA." "The reason I was in the middle of that was because it came to a point where somebody had to do something."
Video of the encounter showed members of a group calling itself the Black Hebrew Israelites taunting the students and other protesters, calling the Native Americans "Uncle Tomahawks" and "$5 Indians" and the high school students "crackers."
Phillips said the Covington students responded with hateful insults of their own.
"I was seeing America be divided by hatred, and I wanted to turn away from this horrible site and I wanted to go away from it," he told "GMA." "I wanted to just ignore it, but then that thought ... to my commitment to God, to a better future for all youth the next generation."
Phillips also accused the students of mocking Native American culture and yelling derogatory comments at him.
"I wish those chaperons and those teachers would have said this is the wrong behavior for American students to be displaying in our nation's capitol," he added. "Where were those teachers, those chaperons? Those kids shouldn't have been exposed to this backlash."
Now, Phillips said he's looking to turn a negative moment into a positive one, according to the Indigenous Peoples Movement.
"We feel that there is a distinct lack of understanding and appreciation of Native peoples and traditions worldwide. It's time to address the indecency of culturally appropriating our ritual movements and songs for the enjoyment of non-Native peoples," Phillips said in an announcement about the proposed meeting at Covington Catholic High School. "So, let's create space for the teaching of tolerance to happen."
The organization did not say as of late Monday whether school officials had responded to Phillips' offer.
Covington Catholic High School did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment, but the Diocese of Covington and Covington Catholic School said in a statement over the weekend that they would investigate the incident.
"We condemn the actions of the Covington Catholic High School students towards Nathan Phillips specifically, and Native Americans in general," the statement said. "We extend our deepest apologies to Mr. Phillips. This behavior is opposed to the Church's teachings on the dignity and respect of the human person."
ABC News' Kieran McGirl and Henderson Hewes contributed to this report.