Alexander, I understand this perspective. It's possible that your'e right and there's no way to know for sure. I did deeper research, prompted by readers like yourself and others who have offered constructive feedback, and I do think it's possible for me to present an even more nuanced perspective, which I will try to do either in a revision or follow-up post. After posting this article and receiving some constructive feedback, I watched two 3-hour lectures from Ryan Heavy Head and Narcisse Blood, PhD researchers and professors (though Narcisse Blood has since passed away) and members of the Blackfeet Nation who received funding to conduct research on the influence of the Blackfeet on Maslow. On the Blackfoot Digital Library in a lecture linked here (https://www.blackfootdigitallibrary.com/digital/collection/bdl/id/1288), in video 9 of 15 minute 6:50-7:10, Ryan Heavy Head says: "There's two really important parts of Maslow's work - one of which - the notion of self-actualization is obviously framed by his Siksika experiences, and the Hierarchy of Needs, possibly to probably." Narcisse Blood, joining him in the lecture says, "What you're hearing is Maslow did not give credit where it was due. In some ways, it was very exploitative. He might have made some rather futile attempts at citing where he got it from, even though he was not highly regarded [among the Blackfeet]."

There should be more space than I have created in the post for the fact that we don't know 100%, which is why Ryan Heavy Head says, "possibly to probably." What we do know is that Maslow was influenced by the Blackfeet because of his six weeks with them, and according to Ryan Heavy Head, his model for self-actualization (which also draws from Kurt Goldstein's work) appears to have been influenced by the Blackfeet. Yet their influence was not cited, which may constitute plagiarism, appropriation, and certainly not giving credit where credit is due.

I do think you're right that the Blackfeet did not intend to create a universal model. From what I understand (and I want to be careful here because I am not an expert), Maslow learned their own way of life from them. They did believe that each people have their own way.

However, given some of the crises of our civilization in the United States, I do think we could stand to consider how we might learn from the Blackfeet. What if we had the thought that "if you are born here, you will have your basic needs met?" What if that were our organizing principle? Steps toward universal basic income, medicare for all, etc., may indeed be steps in that direction.