A loose analogy can be made between the nomadic Sahrawi and Native Americans who are a large portion of Inhofe’s constituency.
I have no idea, but it’s long-standing, genuine and specific to Western Sahara. He hasn’t spoken up on behalf of oppressed indigenous peoples anywhere else in the world. But he’s traveled to Algeria to meet with Sahrawi resistance leaders and torpedoed a Trump nominee over Sahara policy.