Polaris goes in and out of North Star status on the 26,000 year precession cycle. So for the duration of humanity (let's say 100,000 years), there have been decent chunks of time where it's not in use.
I came here to question whether that claim is true, saw your post, and thought something like "well, that settles that." Then I scrolled down and saw neatchee's (great username) post and now my whole world is uncertain.