Posing a subject looking down at the camera will usually induce an aura of superiority or pride and/or both. IHMO, this instance is not an extreme downward angle. Usually, its not appropriate to shoot up into a subject's nose, but if the nose were caucasion this angle probably wouldn't be an issue.
After all, this portrait wasn't really meant to be a glamour shot but rather more of a documentary or character portrait. This genre/style resembles a pic that might be found on the pages of National Geographic rather than GQ. It looks to me as if this specific portrayal was indeed intentional and captures the character very well.