If we’re going to make things about race, natives usually end up better off overall for white people having shown up. In North America, there were some tribes that were chill, but most seemingly were not, and they just roamed around living in harsh conditions and dying. Now they live in the most prosperous nation on the planet and get free college and generally free anything.
If we’re going to talk about contributions to the world, have native populations from America or Australia really done anything of lasting value? I mean really, like anything at all. You go back to Greece and Rome and shit there still shapes the world, and they had beautiful architecture and made democracy and the rule of law. The fuck did natives do around those times? Shit in the woods?
In North America, there were some tribes that were chill, but most seemingly were not
It really is a matter of the tribe. I know here in my state, we have 2 very distinct, but very different interactions with Indians (And I will call them that, because every one I have spoken to referred to themselves as "Indian Peoples").
The First Wave, when the eastern half of the state was founded, was fairly tame. This was groups like the Iowa, Kickapoo, Potawatomi, Sac and Fox, Osage, and Kanza. They werent "peaceful" like the whole "Nobel Savage" stereotype the Left likes, but they were generally more willing to engage with settlers. And even to this day, most of these tribes take an attitude of "The scars of the past can not be healed. All we can do is move forward, this time as brothers rather than enemies."
The Second Wave, when the western half of the state was founded? That was groups like the Cheyenne, Apache, Comanche, and Arapaho. And they committed absolute terror on the prairie against anyone and everyone. That part of the state still bares the scars of their attacks, that part of the state still has lots of (arguably deserved) prejudice against Indians. Incidentally, those tribes are also usually the most "White Man back to Europe! REEEEE!" tribes.
That’s another reason I never liked the idea of calling them Native Americans. If you were really being respectful you’d talk about them by their tribe name because half the tribes hate all the rest anyone and they’re not the same. May as well call all Asian people Orientals instead of Korean and Japanese and Chinese and Thai. If you’re actually being respectful you’d refer to them by what they are, not a made up name to make it easier to lump them into a voter block.
The "noble savage" thing also annoys me because it acts like if not for that dastardly white man these other people would be ruling the world instead. Umm we weren't the only ones with way more technological progress in less time, the arabs had quite the head start on the europeans and didn't have the setback of the bubonic plague but they did ruin themselves with Islam and then the Chinese might have fared better in the colonial period if not for the habit of killing off all the scholars every time a new emperor came into power. Meanwhile most of these "aboriginals" hadn't even invented the damn wheel of all things and who says they really would have progressed that much if left completely isolated for another few centuries?
If we’re going to make things about race, natives usually end up better off overall for white people having shown up. In North America, there were some tribes that were chill, but most seemingly were not, and they just roamed around living in harsh conditions and dying. Now they live in the most prosperous nation on the planet and get free college and generally free anything.
If we’re going to talk about contributions to the world, have native populations from America or Australia really done anything of lasting value? I mean really, like anything at all. You go back to Greece and Rome and shit there still shapes the world, and they had beautiful architecture and made democracy and the rule of law. The fuck did natives do around those times? Shit in the woods?
It really is a matter of the tribe. I know here in my state, we have 2 very distinct, but very different interactions with Indians (And I will call them that, because every one I have spoken to referred to themselves as "Indian Peoples").
The First Wave, when the eastern half of the state was founded, was fairly tame. This was groups like the Iowa, Kickapoo, Potawatomi, Sac and Fox, Osage, and Kanza. They werent "peaceful" like the whole "Nobel Savage" stereotype the Left likes, but they were generally more willing to engage with settlers. And even to this day, most of these tribes take an attitude of "The scars of the past can not be healed. All we can do is move forward, this time as brothers rather than enemies."
The Second Wave, when the western half of the state was founded? That was groups like the Cheyenne, Apache, Comanche, and Arapaho. And they committed absolute terror on the prairie against anyone and everyone. That part of the state still bares the scars of their attacks, that part of the state still has lots of (arguably deserved) prejudice against Indians. Incidentally, those tribes are also usually the most "White Man back to Europe! REEEEE!" tribes.
That’s another reason I never liked the idea of calling them Native Americans. If you were really being respectful you’d talk about them by their tribe name because half the tribes hate all the rest anyone and they’re not the same. May as well call all Asian people Orientals instead of Korean and Japanese and Chinese and Thai. If you’re actually being respectful you’d refer to them by what they are, not a made up name to make it easier to lump them into a voter block.
The "noble savage" thing also annoys me because it acts like if not for that dastardly white man these other people would be ruling the world instead. Umm we weren't the only ones with way more technological progress in less time, the arabs had quite the head start on the europeans and didn't have the setback of the bubonic plague but they did ruin themselves with Islam and then the Chinese might have fared better in the colonial period if not for the habit of killing off all the scholars every time a new emperor came into power. Meanwhile most of these "aboriginals" hadn't even invented the damn wheel of all things and who says they really would have progressed that much if left completely isolated for another few centuries?