In evolutionary terms, favorable adaptation refers to the local environment. In the current local environment, you don't use guns, you use lawyers and the mass media.

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The Devil offered me power. I told him I preferred aperture.

No, your ancestors are from Africa. Just like all the rest of us.

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As above, so below

I generally agree with your sentiments, but I do think that this is a somewhat romantic view. The Native Americans did the best they could, of course, but in reality there was a lot of intertribal warfare and competition for resources, as there was everywhere else in the world. I think that the rise of any major political force was hampered by the interesting fact that there were basically no domesticable animals in the New World. There were no chickens, no pigs, no cows. But in any case, like in many places in the world, they tried to make a livelihood from the resources they had, and fought one another for resources. This is no different from peoples around the world.

But I also think that if they want to secede, that should be a right. They will likely face significant difficulties, as people who secede usually do. Look at Eritrea or Timor Leste.

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As above, so below

lighten up- you know what i meant. just like any other group, they get a lot of handouts from our federal government. i use "welfare" as kind of an umbrella term to refer to anything that our government does for them or gives to them or anyone else..
and the "jobs we won't do" is a jab at the current debate over what the defenders of the ILLEGAL immigrants that flood across our southern border on a daily basis say they are here to do- an argument that anyone with more than 3 functional brain cells knows is a load of the stuff that comes out of the back of a cow.
and, besides, 3/8 of me is native American, with the other 5/8 being pure European white trash of various origins- so i can pick on whoever i want because i can't help myself due to my inferior pedigree. well, maybe i can't pick on African people, or Asians, or Middle eastern people, or the indigenous people of Australia- but anyone else is fair game.
so, i'll say it again- let them secede. they'll be back when things get tough.

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"blacker than the blackest black... times infinity."- Nathan Explosion
The.. Best.. Thread..Ever...

True, true. However, if we are to look at where my ancestors came from within the last 2000 years or so, it's Western Europe, not the Caucasus. (And, well, probably India, though I'm not sure that particular question has been resolved, and if you go back to when the last ancestor of that particular ethnic group left Europe, she was my only Eastern European ancestor--from Czechoslovkia, though I don't know what country it is now.)

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Gillian

"Now everyone was giving her that kind of look UFOlogists get when they suddenly say, 'Hey, if you shade your eyes you can see it is just a flock of geese after all.'"

"You can't erase icing."

"I can't believe it doesn't work! I found it on the internet, man!"

Going by your post, it seems I didn't.

But lightening up happens when a person gets to explaining misunderstandings

Jens, I don't think I'm partaking in a "romantic" view of the native American Lifestyle pre-US conquest.

I think I am looking at it subjectively. I am well aware of the scrounging and inter-tribal and extra-tribal warfares.

And there were also many tribes that were no better than disgusting, slobbish scavengers eating raw rotting meat.(that is not a snub- a very accurate description)

However, overall, the benefits of most of the tribes lifestyle were far superior, in many ways, to the current ones. There were also drawbacks.

There are also many misconceptions still floating around today about tribal lifestyle.

It's 2. Just replace the first 'o' with a blank (well, kinda)
And when was that? It probably wasn't Czechoslovakia at the time.

(Oh boy, I get to point out a spelling error to Gillianren...joy, joy, even if it is an innocent typo)

Well; I'm with you on that previous post because I do see that stereotype. I don't know what the welfare statistics are, but I don't see that stereotype as much as I used to. Although; it has been replaced by the gambling stereotype, which probably isn't any better.

I felt the "post is disgusting" can be interpreted as a personal attack rather than "post sounds disgusting". It is a subtle difference, but it could mean a big change in the readers impression.

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Numbers are not case sensitive. (me)

It is subtle, and I haven't decided yet if I agree with you or not. By directing the comment at the post itself, not the person, i figured it was the same effect- But I'll bear it in mind.

Don't want novaderrik thinking I find him or his other posts bad in any way- Normally we agree on most things and I can only think of two posts he has ever made that caused aggravation with me- and that was one of them

This thread is the first place I've ever seen the people called "Lakotan(s)", as if they were the people of a place called "Lakota". To me, "Lakota" has always been the name of the people... but then what would the country be called? Calling it "Lakota" would be a bit like calling England "English". Maybe it would be named with a word in the Lakota language that has nothing to do with the name "Lakota"...

Lakos?
Yeah; it does sound a bit trekkie.

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Numbers are not case sensitive. (me)

I suppose you could just ask a member of the tribe about a preferred spelling.

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The Devil offered me power. I told him I preferred aperture.

I think this attempt will be as successful as their attempts get the Black Hills returned to them.
Its sad the things that happen on some of these reservations, especially to the children now (my MIL works at a home for these kids and her b/f is Lakota and is very active in the tribe), becoming their own nation would only make these situations worse and would make it hard to get some of these children placed in better situations. From what I have seen some if not most of the tribes wouldn't be able to afford to have special homes for these abused kids, the casino monies don't make it a lot of these kids, what assistance they do get comes from the government commodities.

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-Sabrina

I know it's two. The Czech Republic and Slovakia. (You'd want a hyphen.) I knew where it was in the 1980s, when I studied it; I don't think we established at the time what country it had been in when she lived there. I feel vaguely ashamed of this, actually.

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Gillian

"Now everyone was giving her that kind of look UFOlogists get when they suddenly say, 'Hey, if you shade your eyes you can see it is just a flock of geese after all.'"

"You can't erase icing."

"I can't believe it doesn't work! I found it on the internet, man!"

Hyphen?
Well, I won't hold it against you. My heritage is Czech. Austro-Hungarian in there somewhere... but the region will always be Czech whether it's own country or not.

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Numbers are not case sensitive. (me)

"Ruled"? More like "lived in harmony with"."A very accurate description"---based on what?

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*

I believe you mean "like all the other posters who are human."

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"If you think the LHC will create black holes, you might as well believe Hobbits are at the bottom of your garden."- Dr. Mike Inglis
Rovers forever! - ToSeek
"Carl Sagan sent a message to ET,
Neil Armstrong walked in the Sea of Tranquility
Steve Squyers built Spirit and Opportunity
Dan Haylen upchucked in zero gravity." -Brent Simon, The Space Camp Song

That is better worded. Thank you.There were a few tribes by the pacific that would qualify - by today's langauge- as "white trash."

Happens in the best of families I guess

One hundred percent of me is native American!

As are Canadians, and Mexicans, and American Indians. But as this is the United States of American, we are Americans.

Today the flavor is native American. At one time it was Amerindian. There were others that I don't remember, and am too lazy to look them up. What will it be tomorrow? Native Aborigine?

Or maybe that one should be reserved for the lost people that anthropologist say inhabited this land before the Indians got here.

NATIVE? HA! They're descendents of immigrants, just like the rest of us.

These people are whistling in the wind. As was pointed out earlier, awhile back some States tried to exercise their Constitutional right to secede. It ended badly. The Indian nations are in no better position, and are probably in a worse one. Because no matter what the lip service there is to autonomy, they still have to answer to, and dance to Uncle Sam's tune.

David.