Oh, I know he hasn't probably violated copyright laws with using old photographs. However, I am also sure that in his discussion of his art he did not explain they were derived from copied photos. More fakery from the fake Indian.
Depends on the old photos. Some are certainly copyrighted, and cannot be reproduced without permission. Example from 1887: (Courtesy Smithsonian Institution, National Anthropological Archives [1659-A]. Images from the National Anthropological Archives may not be reproduced without permission.)