as a native american myself, I have no recollection of anyone I know ever taking issue with this.
I don't doubt there was someone somewhere complaining, but similar to the rename of the washington redkins, most of us didn't give a shit.
The most grumbling I've ever heard around this is complaints that pow-wow's are too commercialized but, if anything, that was criticizing our own tribes.
The popular phrase was “my culture is not a costume” at the time. I also remember a bit of encouragement to distinguish between native and native-inspired fashion on the one hand and mimicry and stereotyping on the other.
I don't doubt there were people making noise, but I live in a state that's known for Native Americans (I'm sure you can guess) and it just wasn't a concern for anyone I know.
I don't doubt there was someone somewhere complaining, but similar to the rename of the washington redkins, most of us didn't give a shit.
The most grumbling I've ever heard around this is complaints that pow-wow's are too commercialized but, if anything, that was criticizing our own tribes.