Yes, the current release version of Meteor expects to install its own version of the Android SDK.
You might be able to run it using a global Android SDK install by setting the USE_GLOBAL_ADK environment variable. Try USE_GLOBAL_ADK=t meteor run android to see if this is working for you.
However, the Cordova version we bundle has fairly specific requirements, and error reporting isn’t very good, so you might run into trouble when you use your own SDK.
If at all possible, I’d advise you to wait just a little longer for the public release candidate of Meteor 1.2, which includes an updated version of the Cordova integration that should fix these issues. Among other things, it works with your existing Android SDK install by default.