why do they call them "sandpeople" ?

[2-1B]

This may be a stretch, but is it meant as some sort of slur or just a slang/informal word ?

What I'm getting at is that in ANH Luke calls them sandpeople and that's all we know them as, yet in TPM Greg Proops calls them Tusken Raiders and then in AOTC Anakin's mother's husband calls them Tusken Raiders. On top of that he calls them vicious mindless monsters which is why I thought that MAYBE "sandpeople" could be used as a derogatory term since they live out in the desert with the other "animals" - obviously EVERYBODY on Tatooine lives in the desert but there seems to be a definite distinction as far as civilization goes.

Sooooooooo there's my question. When Luke calls them sandpeople he doesn't seem to be saying it with any malice so I don't want to read too far into it.

We can't really call this a prequel invention because the vintage figure went back and forth with both names, "Tusken Raider" and "Sandpeople."

Well, at least "we" as in those of us familiar with the toy collection. If someone saw every Star Wars film in theaters but had no knowledge of the action figures then they might be confused by the term "Tusken Raider" in the prequels and "Sandpeople" in ANH.

Personally I never thought much about it because I had that figure from early on so it was always just a given to me that the terms were interchangeable with the same meaning. Given the way the characters have been used in episodes 1, 2, and 4, I'm now wondering if there isn't more to it ?

[Kidhuman]

I am guessing because they live like nomads. Everyone else seems to live civilized.

[CaptainSolo1138]

Wow, Caesar. You think way entirely too much . Though I never would have thought of it, I hafta agree with you. I think that by using the word "person" it includes the entire race/species and lumps them all under one roof. For example, take into consideration the following : "Why do you always (insert annoying activity)?" vs. "Why do you (insert race/gender/creed) people always (insert annoying activity)?". My reasoning may go unseen due to the PC rules of the forum, but I know what I mean!!

[Ji'dai]

I guess referring to the Tuskens as "sandpeople" is to Tatooine like referring to back-woods dwellers as "hillbillies" on Earth. I don't think Luke was being deragatory but I'm sure moisture farmers regard Tuskens with caution and likely some distaste, just like we do with hillbillies. Ever see "Deliverance?" I remember Dr. Hibbert's joke on The Simpsons, "...and hillbillies like to be called 'Sons of the Soil,' but it ain't gonna happen. Heh he he he he."

Many aliens weren't named or classified by the Original Trilogy's production team when they were designed. So many of those characters were generically named by Kenner or later by the people who wrote those 80s Role Playing Games, and then the Expanded Universe authors. I think Lucasfilm has made a conscious effort to name and classify every alien they produce for the prequels though to maintain creative control.

[Warryyr]

Starwars.com has a great feature with the database where you can look up characters, creatures, vehicles, etc and it gives great explanations. The Sandpeople are also called Tusken Raiders because they raided a fort, called Tusken, that settlers to the planet had built on sacred ground of the Sandpeople (get it, raiders against Fort Tusken--Tusken Raiders).

[Droid]

It bugs me that they call them Tusken Raiders in the prequels. I think they should call them sandpeople once in a while for consistency's sake.

[mm74md]

I thought about this as well. As far as the Vintage toy line goes, they changed the name from Sandpeople to Tusken on the ROTJ cardback. Here is how it was broken down back in the day

Sand People on the Star Wars card
Sandpeople on The Empire Strikes Back card
Tusken Raider (Sand People) on the ROTJ card

[bobafrett]

I often wondered that same thing Caesar. But as I grew older I noticed that there are words to describe the same thing, like Caucasian or White, African American or Black. While none of those are derogatory or slang, at least not that I know of, they are words we use to describe the same group or groups of people. Did that make sense, I sure hope so, as I am just getting over the flu.

[JediTricks]

It doesn't help that they hang out in the sandy desert and wear outfits that are completely sand-colored.

[mabudonicus]

Maybe they actually eat sand when the Banthas migrate south for the winter... those mushrooms can't be too prolific, and Womp rats probably taste like crap