Certainly, he could have done far less. This sounds like it's a communication problem between the linguist and the community. Perhaps the two sides just never agreed beforehand on the type of publications that would result from his fieldwork in the community. I think it's crucial that the two sides communicate with each other openly about what their needs and expectations are. If that's done from the beginning, there's no reason why situations like the one you describe above would ever have to happen.
Real understanding comes slowly.
People still repeat that mistaken belief even all these years later. I have a lot to say on that point, but I'll save it for a separate message, as this one is already getting quite long. Just to wrap up, though, the case you describe is not entirely unique, and that's regrettable. But I think there's a lot that can be done to try and fix situations like that, or to prevent them from even happening in the first place. There is nothing inherent in the relationship between a linguist and a native speech community which necessitates these kinds of messes.