On the heels of his controversial claim that African slaves were "immigrants," Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson posed an odd question at a planning convention last week: "Where did all the Indians go?"

The statement referred to indigenous Native Americans that inhabited the American territory, prior to the foundation of the United States. It was not referencing the Indians of India who the Natives were mistaken for upon Columbus' 1492 landing.

Carson's curiosity, though seemingly and inexplicably genuine, neglected the long and well documented history of genocide enacted by European settlers that rendered Natives nearly gone by the 1900s.

Following the significant press backlash, Secretary Sean Spicer responded at a press conference, "The President stands by Secretary Carson's question. It's fair. No one in the current administration, the President included, has any idea where they are or may have gone. There's nothing left to talk about. Can we please move on to real questions? Not fake ones."

The following day, Kellyanne Conway told CNN: "Secretary Carson wasn't claiming the Indians went somewhere else. He was simply asking a rhetorical question revolving around immigration. The real issues here are healthcare and those Americans who lost their jobs under President Obama. I fail to see how the press is missing that."

When asked for a followup by the NY Times, Dr. Carson doubled down: "I think my words have been taken out of context. I wasn't discussing any other issues. I am legitimately unaware of the whereabouts of any Natives in this country. I'm honestly asking, where did they all go? I have no idea. Do you?"

The Times reporter spent the next hour catching Carson up on the past few hundred years of American history, including the systematic reduction of the Native population from 10 million in 1492 to 300,000 in 1900. Dr. Carson pondered for a moment, then said, "Well, if that's all true, then how do you explain Thanksgiving?"

The journalist reportedly hung up, stating, "I write about current events. I don't have the time to give members of this administration a basic fucking history lesson. I mean, to get a PhD in neuroscience, don't you need a fucking grade school education?"