KissMyTail wrote:sandman wrote:I think part of the problem is that sometimes people assume that Native Americans just know a lot about nature. The truth is that most don't. But some like to act like they do and they get a little smug in the process.
The word that should be used here is arrogant. They're not just smug, they're arrogant. A lot of people believe in the myth of the noble savage and although Indians (or Native Americans or North American aborigines or whatever you want to call them) had survival skills, their standard of living and their level of knowledge was primitive at best. Most were dead by the age of forty and many tribes were nothing more than groups of brutal savages leading an extremely self-centered existence. I could go on, but I think you get the idea.
There's no doubt that there are Native Americans with the attitude you describe and there's no doubt that many people have an overly romanticized view of Native American traditional cultures. However, this thread is supposed to be about pine cones and I'd appreciate it if we could stick to the topic a little more closely!