> The United States has always dealt with this

Did you mean to write "America" instead of "the United States"? Because when the continent had only American Indians, there was no United States. And in fact for a long while after it was founded, they were excluded from citizenship.

Regardless, I'm sure we both agree that European conquest and colonization represented a giant change. It's false to imply that another such change isn't a change, by virtue of it happening once before already. Or to imply that therefore, the country is compelled to submit to such a change.

If I wanted to be that pedantic, I could have looked up one of the many words for the land the displaced indigenous peoples used.

It's not pedantic to distinguish between a landmass and a nation.

touche, but metonymy is an accepted part of the English language.