The Tharks play the role of the Indians in the movie and they are depicted (with the exception of Tars Tarkas) as baby-murdering, bloody thirsty savages. What's worse is the Thark/Indians don't help the good guys out until they are prodded into it by a Virginian who fight on the side of the Confederacy in the Civil War.
Playing the role of the cowboys are the humanoid residents of Helium - and they are depicted as straight-up good guys. While the bad guys are self-proclaimed gods who want to control everybody (boy that sounds familiar).
In short, Hollywood has become so ideologically polluted that it cannot except straightforward good vs. evil movies like this anymore.
Exit question, can you recall any recent Hollywood action movie where the hero is a heterosexual American who gets married to the heroine at the end of the movie.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull :) Indy married Marion Ravenwood at the end.