In other words, does the noble savage concept hold any water through the history of tribal groups? Yes -- quite a lot. n many ways they've got it all over us supposedly mroe civilized ones. But then there are the facts never told in history books too.

I've written quite a lot debunking the notion that American Indians are, as often said, meaningfully "native Americans", "First Nations," a superior breed to the evil white interlopers, peace-loving, or even "native here to begin with, etc. Copies on request.

Gems of this kind of political incorrectness are always popping up if you look for them -- some of them unintentionally funny/damning.
<br style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"><b style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Tacna[/b] is the southernmost </span>region in </span>Peru. Its name originates from the </span>Quechua words <i style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">taka[/i] ("hit") and </span><i style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">na[/i]
("something to do"), which would mean "a place to hit". This expression
is thought to be related to the Quechua conquest of the </span>Aymara people.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacna_Region