"Indian giver" joke on Tonight Show

On Thursday's Tonight Show (airdate: 9/17/09), Conan O'Brien had comedian Louis C.K. on. C.K. did a routine about how people have gotten meaner, focusing on how they disembark from airplanes. He finished with a long bit on Indians:Miserable pricks, all of us.

People really are not as nice as they used to be, even people that think--like a friend of mine who I think is a nice guy...the other day, he called me an Indian giver.

How--is there anything more offensive than that? Like it's supposed to mean that you gave somebody something and then took it back. And we say "Indian giver" because the idea is that the Indians gave us America, and then tried anyway to take it back. And it's so offensive, when you think of what the truth is, which is that we came here, and we're like--the Indians were already here--and we're like, "Hey, can we have everything?"

And they're like, "I guess, because we don't 'have' things, we just enjoy them, and use them when we need them." And then we start killing all of them. And they're like, "Oh, dude, if that's what 'have' means, can we go ahead and not do that?"Comment:  C.K.'s switch from observational humor (disembarking airplanes) to political humor was odd and disjointed. And he misstated the origin of "Indian giver." But it's good to see yet another mention of Indians on The Tonight Show. Perhaps Conan will be brave and give Charlie Hill a spot.

For more on "Indian giver," see Indian Giver by 1910 Fruitgum Company and Simpson:  "I'm Not an Indian Giver." For more on The Tonight Show, see Redskins Joke on Tonight Show and Scalping on Tonight Show.