Yes, they really did this. A native stereotype to play cowboys and indians. It was the 90's, so product of time and all.
This stage is the first example we'll run into that has branching paths, and if you take the path that gives you a new toy to play with, you reach the "fake" boss and have to replay the stage to get the "real" boss. The reason for the quotes is that both bosses are exactly the same, it's just one has an extra prize for beating him in the parts for Beat.
There's not much in the way of stage gimmicks here, other than the split paths. Tomahawk Man himself is a decent boss, but being weak to the shield weapon makes him annoying to fight.
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