To complicate the issue relating to what-to-call people descended from the folks who were in Northa America before the Europeans arrived, legal issues also get involved. In American (federal) law, "Native American", "Native Alaskan", and "Native Hawaiian" all have specific legal meanings, which may or may not have anything to do with their tribal membership, or political or ethnic status.

And Gar is right in that plenty of folks prefer to be called "Indians" still; they find "Native American" pretentious and/or PC. But not everyone. Case in point: the Native American Rights Fund versus the Congress of American Indians.

No? There was no concept of "those of us on this land"?

About as much as Rome and Gaul had that concept. They were different nations, different languages, different religions, different cultures , different languages - different marriage customs, different attitudes towards slavery, different attitudes towards war. I'm pretty sure the only "us" was us people - the same us the U.S. and China have today.

And Gar is right in that plenty of folks prefer to be called "Indians" still; they find "Native American" pretentious and/or PC. But not everyone. Case in point: the Native American Rights Fund versus the Congress of American Indians.

Don't know how accurate infoplease is on this but:

[link]

In the end, the term you choose to use (as an Indian or non-Indian) is your own personal choice. Very few Indians that I know care either way. The recommended method is to refer to a person by their tribe, if that information is known. The reason is that the Native peoples of North America are incredibly diverse. It would be like referring both a Romanian and an Irishman as European. . . . [W]henever possible an Indian would prefer to be called a Cherokee or a Lakota or whichever tribe they belong to. This shows respect because not only are you sensitive to the fact that the terms Indian, American Indian, and Native American are an over simplification of a diverse ethnicity, but you also show that you listened when they told what tribe they belonged to.

When you don't know the specific tribe simply use the term which you are most comfortable using. The worst that can happen is that someone might correct you and open the door for a thoughtful debate on the subject of political correctness and its impact on ethnic identity. What matters in the long run is not which term is used but the intention with which it is used.

Except that I find "Native American" gets me ragged mercilessly by some local American Indians.

My Little Pony Apocalypse Ponies

Heh. Now I want my own set!

Punk Rock Toddler (mine): [link]

Hee! Casper is such a cutiehead.

What a great picture to wake up to!

Now I have to jump in the shower because I have a full day planned of doing laundry, dusting, vacuuming, driving to the store to rent a carpet shampoo machine, and then carpet cleaning! How very glamorous and exciting my life is. Although we will be going to the X-Men movie tonight, so I have something non-cleaning-related to look forward to.

I've watched entirely too much Teen Titans this morning. I'm going to have to make up for it by being extra-productive this afternoon. I hope!

I'm pretty sure the only "us" was us people - the same us the U.S. and China have today.

I'm sorry--I don't get it.

My assumption was that there is a "We are people" us. And then when the white man comes, there is a "we are not those people" us. Neither of those concepts require an invasion.