They would still be living a primitive life had the Europeans not come to America. They were stone-age people. They didn’t even have metal prior to it’s introduction from outside. They didn’t have horses. They were introduced by the Spanish. They made tools and weapons from rock and had to walk to get anywhere.
I was not referring to modern day native Americans who live in stucco houses, drive Ford F250’s, and enjoy their 54” LCD TVs.
I wasn’t referring to modern ones either. The Cherokees never lived in tepees or were nomadic for instance.
Kind of hard to blame the indians for not having horses which had to be brought over here.
I’m not saying they were anywhere as advanced as the Europeans, but that especially the tribes that got the apology weren’t exactly what you described them as. Advanced or not a lot of tribes had a pretty good setup before Europeans arrived. Would I prefer it? No, but I just don’t think it is correct to say they were in horrible shape before contact.