Both David Trueheart and Tommy Oliver are Native American/Indigenous people of the Americas of whatever tribe Sam Trueheart and his ancestor True of Heart belongs to.
- Because Tommy's adoption takes place in the 80s (when depends on how canon you view the comics), it's likely that he was born off the reservation (and, if you believe the MMPR interactive CD-Rom, he was born in L.A.), Sam wasn't able to adopt or otherwise gain guardianship of Tommy because his birth happened off the reservation. It's only been relatively recently (within the last 20 or so years...roughly) that efforts have been made to keep Indigenous children with the tribe they're recognized as belonging to, or at least one of their parents. Back in the 1980s, depending on what had happened with David and Tommy's parents so that they weren't able to raise their boys (and even if the parents indicated that they were Native American/Indigenous), Tommy was likely placed with a white couple instead of being placed with Sam Trueheart or his closest adult family member in the tribe. What tribe that is isn't identified in the show that this troper is able to find and likely for good reason: a brief bit of research finds a lot of tribes within the L.A. area. It was likely easier to keep the tribe vague instead of having one tribe or another associated with the Power Rangers show, much like how, in Dino Thunder, the video and card games mentioned in the show aren't actually real despite being based on games like Pokemon and Magic the Gathering.
Ernie's surname is common enough that it's easy to see why nobody connected him with being the first Burble Baby Food Baby
- Think about it: it's revealed towards the end of Mondo's Last Stand that Ernie was the first Burble Baby Food Baby Mascot. Even when the representatives from the company come in, he doesn't speak up, saying it was him. Granted, he either might not have known he was the first or that he'd been one at all. Given what he's like, it's likely something he wouldn't have mentioned unless the conversation shifted to where it'd be relevant-like when he tells Tommy during Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers that he'd played football in college. Between that and how some name combinations are common in different areas, he might not be the only Ernie with whatever his surname is in Angel Grove and at least some of those might be younger than he is in the show, though we're never told what his age is either.
