A bit OT here, but FWIW it’s unclear which version is the REAL or ORIGINAL version of that poem. (Actually it would appear that neither of the versions you refer to are the original versions; the relevant question is which of those two versions came first.)
I always heard it as “tiger” as a kid. It wasn’t until many years later that I learned of the n-word version, and that only in a historical context.
I did clinicals on an Indian reservation, and the same thing happened there too. 30-year-old grandmothers were not uncommon.
It is so sad that our indigenous people are as poor and suffering as they are. My brother is a social worker in Oklahoma. He works with an Indian reservation and tells horror stories. It is just not right.