past tense. That aspect of airbending isn't necessarily there anymore, spirituality and airbending arent necessarily related naturally.
I'd say yes; you don't need to be a bender to be part of a nation, so they should still be considered Air Nationals
LoK pretty much killed off the need for spirituality with air bending. Heck, you don't even need it to get into the spirit world.
I just wish the universe would address that. Everything just points in the opposite direction when we take into account Tenzin during book 3. I actually hope Rohan isn't an air bender to force the idea of what an Air Nomad actual is to Tenzin.
they carry on the traditions and teachings of air nomads, they live in the air temples, so yes
We're told that but we don't really see that other than one or two instances. If anything, the new Air Nation doesn't really follow many of those teachings. Sure, Jinora has the ceremony in book 3 but book 4 Jinora seems to go in a completely different route.
Another thing, an Air Acolyte represented the air nation before Tenzin did.
Okay, I debated saying this, since it's very easily for people to take it the wrong way. So as a disclaimer, I am NOT endorsing black fire or saying that fire can be absent of light.
However, it IS hypothetically possible for flames to visually appear black. If a region of the flame is significantly less bright than the surrounding flames, the brain will interpret that as a black spot, even though it really isn't.
after gaining airbending the Harmonic Convergence, these new airbenders, I still consider Air Nomads, not Acolytes. In fact, the new Air Nomad generation started when the Harmonic Convergence gave certain nonbenders airbending.
Otaku deserves to be an Air Nomad.
One even served on the counsel in book 1.
For Otaku, he was written to be that link between the acolytes and the new air nation. The naming of that nation seems more informal compared to other nations.