Colorado State University (CSU) is facing intense criticism after two Native American brothers were pulled aside during a campus tour because a nervous white mom thought they were suspicious and too quiet, CNN reports. 

The teens drove seven hours from New Mexico to Fort Collins, Colorado, with the family's only car to visit the campus on April 30. 

"This was their dream school, and I wanted to give them that opportunity," their mother, Lorraine Kahneratokwas Gray, said.

When they arrived, the tour had already started. 

"A parent participating in the tour called campus police because she was nervous about the presence of two young men who joined the tour while it was in progress," the school officials said.

The police report identified the caller as a 45-year-old white woman. For six minutes, she described the pair as suspicious citing their quiet demeanor and clothing as a cause for caution. 

“They are not, definitely not, a part of the tour,” said the woman from Colorado. “And their behavior is just really odd. And I’ve never called, ever, about anybody. But they joined our tour. They won’t give their names.”

She also accused the two of lying in the 911 call but the caller did not specifically say what they lied about.

Campus police intervened and pulled the two prospective students aside, questioned them and after discovering that the two were meant to be part of the tour, allowed them to return. However, by the time police finished interrogating the two, the tour had moved on. 

"It breaks my heart because they didn't do anything to warrant that," Gray told local news station KOAT. "They're walking on their own ancestors' land, so it breaks my heart."

Footage from the encounter showed the young men complying with officers and asking questions. One officer can be heard telling the brothers why they were isolated and pulled aside in the first place. 

“The reason we stopped you and talked to you is because someone from the group called and said you guys just kind of came into the group,” the officer said. “They also said they tried to ask you guys questions and you didn’t want to answer questions.”

Both brothers were interested in CSU because of its proximity to Denver. They wanted to be near the city because of its concerts and music scene, the Associated Press reports. The Kanewakeron Gray brothers are Mohawk and musicians who study contemporary and traditional music. This ordeal dampens their idea of the city and school.

“I think it’s pretty discriminatory,” Thomas Kanewakeron Gray, 19, said Thursday of the incident at CSU. “Me and my brother just stayed to ourselves the whole time. I guess that was scaring people; that we were just quiet.”

Days following the ordeal, school officials have launched a review into the matter, offered to refund expenses for the brothers and provide a second tour to make amends for the first. 

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