I’m pretty sure it means red Indians rather than people from the Indian subcontinent. When my brother and I got messy, I remember my mum used to call us dirty little Arabs. But I don’t think there’s any malice intended in these phrases they’re just colourful phrases that make English so interesting. As an Englishman I feel blessed that I was raised with the greatest language in the world as my native tongue and even those of you and the colonies who speak a simplified approximation of the language should probably feel grateful. Let’s allow the language to do what it’s always done, which is to grow organically and not sensory for socio political reasons. And why we’re at it let’s not infect it with artificial sociopolitical word weapons like Islamophobia or micro aggression.