Haha not sure. But it's certainly possible: one of those Cherokee friends is a law professor who, earlier in her career, spent a lot of time trying to change NCAA team names (except the Seminoles, which is practically licensed by that tribe), so it's definitely a hot-button issue with her.
Maybe geography plays a role, too. Most Indians that I know are southerners and preferred to be called "Indians" (if not by the name of their tribe), rather than "Native Americans," and that seems to be a little bit of a north-south divide. When I moved down there, I got quite a few lectures on "we're Indians, not Native Americans." Maybe the "redskins" thing is different from area to area too.