A middle-class British white guy who worked in a mayonnaise factory has retired to pursue his dream of being an Indian — the kind of Indian he learned about by watching spaghetti westerns. So now he makes fancy feathered headdresses and elaborate wooden pipes, just like real Indians do.

You know, I do sympathize with the idea of admiring and respecting other cultures, and I think it’s a good hobby to read about and study diverse people. Indian history actually is interesting, and often tragic, and complex. Maybe he digs deeper, but this story presents his obsession as being more about the idealized exotic Western image of the Indian, rather than, say, the kind of Indian Sherman Alexie or Leslie Marmon Silko writes about.

So this promise is rather horrifying:

The 65-year-old is hoping to take his talks to schools and museums to eradicate some misconceptions there are about Native Americans.

“Eradicate” is not a synonym for “propagate”.