If you're going on and on about "respecting native land" -- please read 1491 by Charles C. Mann.

The way I keep seeing native cultures portrayed here on Twitter is consistent with the "natural, mystical Native" where they have all these sacred lands, etc.

Guess what? We do too.

The Native American tribes were not so different than European populations, with notable differences because they didn't have steel, beasts of burden, and some other domesticated crops.

With that said, they hunted many animals to extinction, burned ecosystems, etc.

Native populations weren't these mystical "land respecters" that we often see them portrayed as in movies.

They had different cultures, and many of them were highly developed societies. Moreover, the vast majority of Pre-Columbian populations lived south of what is now the US.

When it comes to "tribal rituals" or "sacred land" -- their religious ways are no more different or weird than anything in Islam, Christianity, etc. We all have "sacred sites" within each religion.

They're not unique in that aspect. Talking voices in the sky are weird. Period.

Land conquest is not unique to the North American continent, and the people native to North America were not unique in defeat.

Their story is an outlier simply because 90% of their population was wiped out by disease before they could effectively defend their land.

Moreover, the various tribes and populations of North America were at a technological disadvantage, lacking steel, horses, gunpowder and more.

Their brand of asymmetrical warfare was destined to fail. It's not personal. This is just how wars and treaties get stepped on.

There are many ethnic populations in Southeast Asia, Africa, South America, and Australia who claim "their land" was taken.

It's called conquest.

Welcome to how history works. We like, fight wars and shit. You don't get your land back because you had it several centuries ago.

Moreover, and this is really fucking important: Your "sacred land" changed hands a ton of fucking times over several centuries, as various native populations fought wars, trading boundary lines, fighting for resources.

Land tends to change hands. It's not just you.

Several centuries from now, the United States may not be one unified country, and that means the carving that is now on Mt. Rushmore will belong to someone else, and they may choose to blow it up.

Former Americans may be pissed about it, but they can't do anything to stop it.

History is a river. When you stick your feet in the water, you're technically in the river with that name -- but the water, pebbles and driftwood around you are different than the water that flowed the day before.

Shit is dynamic, and it will keep on changing.

You can respect the culture of the native tribes that used to occupy US territory, without acknowledging their "right" to any land or territory.

Because, here's the bottom line: These various tribes lost a series of armed conflicts with another sovereign nation.

Napoleon came damn close to making all of Europe a country called France. In an alternative version of history -- everyone is speaking French across Europe, and the former "ethnic" people of Germany are pissed off about not having their old land.

That's how the world works.

No offense, but it ain't "your" fucking mountain. It's OUR fucking mountain. If we want to carve American Presidents, or a goddamn cocker spaniel onto the face of it, that's our call.

That's why we are tearing down Confederate statues: It ain't their land anymore. They lost.

If you recognize the Confederacy was a sovereign nation, even for four short years, then you also need to recognize the outcome of that war was no less valid than the outcome of any of the wars American armies fought with native populations.

You don't get to keep your heritage.

I'm so goddamn tired of hearing the same, sad, ahistorical conversation about anyone's "right" to "their" land.

No.

Your ancestors were conquered. It has happened to a LOT of ethnic populations. It's not just you, and it's not just North and South America.

Nobody likes being on the receiving end of conquest. Trust me, your feelings aren't unique. It sucks having your culture erased from history, but it's also something that just keeps on happening, and will keep on happening.

Your conquest just happens to be recent.

It's not like our standard has changed. The United States and the United Kingdom teamed up in the 1960s to kick a native population off an island called Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

The United Nations demanded we give the native people their land back. We said, "Nah."

The United States took over the Hawaiian Islands, Guam, the former Caroline Islands, Samoa, etc.

Lately, we have occupied Iraq and Afghanistan. We re-branded imperialism, and made it "spreading freedom and democracy" -- because that's just how we roll.

The whole "we signed a treaty" argument means nothing. Go look at the Diego Garcia situation. The United Nations said the US military needs to leave, and the UK needs to give the natives their island back.

We said, "Fuck off", basically. You gonna go fight for them, too?

Anyway, I'm done. This whole discussion about 'their native land' is un-serious, childish, whiny bullshit.