Indian chief wine holders

'Offensive' souvenir figure pulled from store shelf

By Kayla GahaganThe owners of a Rapid City souvenir shop have removed a miniature statue after Native Americans complained it was offensive.

Roger and Cindy Thompson, owners of Gold Diggers on Mount Rushmore Road, said they pulled a ceramic wine holder off shelves Thursday after receiving a complaint from a Native American woman.The owners of Gold Diggers say about 40 percent of their employees are Native American and the issue has been blown out of proportion.

"We cater to the Native American community; we admire them," said Roger Thompson. "We don't make fun of them, we employ them."

Cindy Thompson said she asked her Native American employees if they thought the statue was offensive before she put it on the shelves. She said no one disapproved.

"One said, 'No, it's really cute,'" Cindy said, and another added, "No, it's 2009."

The couple issued a written apology to the woman and said they didn't realize the wine holder would offend anyone.

Gold Diggers manager Jackie White said the holder was included in a pallet of several wine holders of the same design, which also featured cowboys, antlers, bears, moose, raccoons and horses.

She said the Native American statues will be thrown out, because they can no longer be returned to the manufacturer.

"It's completely ridiculous. We didn't mean anything by it."

Roger said some may be offended that the wine holder is offensive to others.

"It's like slapping a Native American in the face," he said, because it assumes that all Native Americans have a problem with alcohol and can't have a wine holder in their house. "A percentage of any population has a problem with alcohol. Many Native Americans are responsible users of alcohol."

The Thompsons said it was never meant to be disrespectful, and their store welcomes people of all cultures and backgrounds. Cindy said Gold Diggers, which features Native American jewelry and other items, was founded on her own appreciation of the Native American culture and artwork. She lived on reservations in the Southwest for many years.

Complaints filed

It's not the first time Native Americans in Rapid City have pushed back against merchandise and displays. A large bronze statue in front of Prairie Edge of a Native American man with his hands tied behind his back was replaced last year after complaints. Most recently, McDonald's fielded complaints about its Night At The Museum Kids Meal toy: Gen. Custer riding a motorcycle.Comment:  "It's 2009"? Did I miss the cutoff date when the "drunk Indian" stereotype stopped being a stereotype?

The Thompsons sound rather dull-witted to me. I can't tell if they're unconscious racists or simply insensitive morons.

How could you not know that a drinking-Indian image is offensive? Do the Thompsons also sell Chief Wahoo memorabilia and Night at the Museum Custer dolls?

Asking employees whose jobs may depend on their answers is a poor way to assess community opinion. Especially when the owners' position seems clear, as it does in the article.

Cindy's version of an apology: It's ridiculous that you're forcing us to apologize. If you're offended by our products, it's not our fault.

Roger's version of an apology: Some Indians drink responsibly. How dare you insult them by implying that all drinking Indians are drunk Indians?

I guess this is what passes for "racial sensitivity" in Rapid City. The Thompsons' non-apology apologies would sound self-serving, defensive, and insincere anywhere else.

Antlers drinking wine?

I'd also like to know about the other wine holders "of the same design." I guess they could depict bears and raccoons guzzling wine. Even moose and horses. But antlers? How exactly does a rack of antlers drink wine?

I'm guessing the antlers product is merely holding a bottle, not drinking it. Which would mean the Indian wine holder does not have the same design. It would mean someone wanted to depict the Indian drinking wine, not merely holding it.

ShopWiki shows us what the cowboy and horse wine holders might look like. Twisted Grins shows us what the rest of the animal wine holders might look like. A typical antler wine rack suggests these items do not all have "the same design."

If the wine holders showed John Wayne...Elvis Presley...Marilyn Monroe...John F. Kennedy...George W. Bush...Barack Obama...and Jesus guzzling wine, then I'd say the manufacturer was being evenhanded and could consider adding an Indian. But including an Indian with a drunk cowboy and drunk animals isn't doing the Indian any favors. It implies the Indian is as coarse and uncivilized as the other critters.

Then there's this charming product:

Native American Indian Chief Wine Bottle HolderNative American Indian Chief H & K Wine Bottle Holder
... great gift to celebrate Native Americans.Yeah, because a Plains chief with a spear and a tomahawk is the epitome of Native Americana. These chiefs liked to get their hands dirty (bloody). They did all their killing and murdering themselves. They didn't delegate it to their savage warriors--oh, no. It was so important that they wore their full ceremonial regalia while they butchered people.

Uh-huh, sure. In other words, we celebrate Indians by repeating the oldest and stupidest stereotypes of them.



"Me savage war chief! Kill many white man! Then drink bottle of wine to get blitzed and pass out."



For more on the subject, see The Big Chief and Drunken Indians.

P.S. We've heard about the Custer toys already. But a statue of Indian with his hands tied? In front of the Prairie Edge store, which deals in Indian arts and crafts? As recently as 2008? Is there anybody in Rapid City who isn't totally clueless?