This is MY America!

[jinx]

Originally Posted by Flint

Who can truly say this?

The original Americans were obviously Native Americans.

Which native americans are you talking about?

For half a century, textbooks and scientists had agreed on a common theory that hunters following large herds of game wandered across the Bering Strait land bridge 12,000 years ago.[18] While some still believe the old hypothesis, many other scientists hold that there were numerous waves of migration to the Americas. The different cultures discovered through ancient skeletal remains support this latter theory and the Kennewick Man was one of the many cultures to roam the Americas before disappearing into history.[19]

Radiocarbon dates from the site indicated occupancy as early as 16,000 years ago and possibly as long as 19,000 years ago. The "Clovis First" camp has tried to dispute the age of the findings, but generally their efforts have been dismissed. Although the dates are still controversial to some, archaeologists familiar with evidence from the site agree that Meadowcroft was used by Native Americans in the pre-Clovis era, and as such, provides evidence for very early human habitation of the Americas. In fact, if the 19,000 years ago dating is correct, Meadowcroft Rockshelter is the oldest known Native American cultural site. However, archaeologists agree that the 11,000-13,000 date for the rockshelter is accurate and widely accepted, which makes the concept of "Clovis First", simply not possible.

Until recently, the standard theory among archaeologists (known as Clovis First) was that the Clovis people were the first inhabitants of the Americas. The primary support of the theory was that no solid evidence of pre-Clovis human inhabitation had been found.

[Flint]

Originally Posted by jinx

Which native americans are you talking about?

The 10 to 20 million people living in an advanced, complex North American society before the "settlers" arrived to "tame the wilderness" ...

[Shawnee123]

Originally Posted by Flint

The 10 to 20 million people living in an advanced, complex North American society before the "settlers" arrived to "tame the wilderness" ...

:

[jinx]

Originally Posted by Flint

The 10 to 20 million people living in an advanced, complex North American society before the "settlers" arrived to "tame the wilderness" ...

But they weren't the first, so why do they have any more right to claim this land than the european settlers? Your argument is not about who was first, just who was here before the british???

[Flint]

Originally Posted by Flint

The 10 to 20 million people living in an advanced, complex North American society before the "settlers" arrived to "tame the wilderness" ...

Originally Posted by jinx

But they weren't the first, so why do they have any more right to claim this land than the european settlers? Your argument is not about who was first, just who was here before the british???

The Native Americans weren't here first??? Be it 12K, 19K, or as much as 40+K years ago; via land voyage across the Bering Strait, or skipping along the extreme Northern coastline in small boat voyages, people got here somehow. They were here, and well-established in a complex, advanced culture of 10s of millions (as opposed to a nomadic scattering of primitive savages) when the Europeans began to arrive circa 1500.

It's not "my argument" - it's what happened. I mention the British specifically because they mark the beginning of the "creation myth" of America.

[jinx]

Originally Posted by Flint

The Native Americans weren't here first??? Be it 12K, 19K, or as much as 40+K years ago; via land voyage across the Bering Strait, or skipping along the extreme Northern coastline in small boat voyages, people got here somehow.

So, no matter where they came from or how they got here - they were all Native Americans, right up to and excluding the european settlers?

[Flint]

Yes, that's what Native American means.

[jinx]

Originally Posted by Flint

Yes, that's what Native American means.

But at first you said it meant only the people who came across the bering straight - now you're saying that people from africa, spain, netherlands etc... who got got here prior to the brits are all NA's. I guess I just don't understand your line in the sand. What exactly were you taught in school that you're refuting?

[Flint]

Originally Posted by jinx

...now you're saying that people from africa, spain, netherlands etc... who got got here prior to the brits are all NA's. I guess I just don't understand your line in the sand.

No, I'm not saying that. You're confused about what "European" means. Spanish, French, and Dutch people are Europeans. The Africans were slaves of, and thus came with the Europeans. The millions of people who had already had an established civilization here were Native Americans.

[lumberjim]

Originally Posted by jinx

So, no matter where they came from or how they got here - they were all Native Americans, right up to and excluding the european settlers?

Originally Posted by Flint

Yes, that's what Native American means.

no it isn't. native means they were always here. that they evolved here. I THINK jinx's point is that the people that crossed the land bridge, and came into this country did the same thing as the european colonists. they invaded, and took over. because they could. might means right on an historical sense.