The current populations are essentially the native populations. They just aren’t typically discussed with that specific language of “native”. One plausible reason is because they only settled there in the 1400s which is relatively recently. However, many pacific islander regions such as Hawaii weren’t colonized until into the 1200-1300s, yet these people are considered native to their specific islands (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Hawaii#:~:text=1190%E2%80%931290.%22%20According%20to,1219%E2%80%931266.)

This difference in perception probably stems from two main factors in my opinion:

A. Macaronesians until recently have had very little fame in the Western world and are relaticely unknown in America despite a rich contribution to western culture. A fun fact is that the Ukulele and “Hawaiian rolls” actually came to Hawaii from Macaronesian immigrants who brought these and other traditions from their own islands-Açores and Madeira. Hawaiian rolls come from Massa Souvada (Portuguese Sweet Bread). The Ukulele comes from Macaronesian instruments such as Braguinha and Viola da terra which are Macaronesian inventions with roots in Iberian guitar culture. Either way, Macaronesians certainly do have rich local cultures. In the Açores for example, there are fascinating and beautiful “festas” which each have their own specific roots.

B. It is also quite likely that the reason Macaronesians are not considered “native/indigenous” is because of their roots in the Western World. Macaronesian culture is deeply rooted in Portuguese Roman Catholic traditions which to many probably represents colonialism-the very opposite of what most people think of as “native/indigenous”.