Its great how many indigenous names for their own group translate to "people" or "the people". Comes with this implicit meaning that those other groups they're neighbors with are not "people".
"Hey what do you call your tribe?" "People"
"And this other tribe we've encountered?"
"Not people, enemies."
You end up with a sort of back and forth where tribes who were friendly with colonizers and explorers get to be called "People" and the ones who weren't are recorded for all time as "Assholes".
Windy_Sails t1_j6lml1d wrote
Reply to comment by marmorset in TIL about Kwihnai Tosabitʉ or "White Eagle," a Medicine Man and messiah of the Comanche Native American tribe. Uniting all of the Comanche people and several other groups, he led them to an immediate defeat and was renamed Isatai'i "Wolf's Vulva." by marmorset
Its great how many indigenous names for their own group translate to "people" or "the people". Comes with this implicit meaning that those other groups they're neighbors with are not "people".
"Hey what do you call your tribe?" "People" "And this other tribe we've encountered?" "Not people, enemies."
You end up with a sort of back and forth where tribes who were friendly with colonizers and explorers get to be called "People" and the ones who weren't are recorded for all time as "Assholes".