This novelty wine holder depicting a Native American drinking from a bottle of wine was recently removed a Rapid City, S.D., souvenir shop. (Courtesy photo/Rapid City Journal)

Here’s a really good follow-up to the story about a souvenir depicting a wine-guzzling Indian that – briefly – was for sale at a souvenir shop in Rapid City, S.D.

As soon as I saw the original story (read it here), I flashed back to last month’s controversy over McDonald’s inclusion of a Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer toy in its Happy Meals. The vitriol – well, I was going to say flew, but what exactly does vitriol do? Ooze? Anyhow, there was a lot of it, which was discouraging, given that the best we can do with incidents like this is turn them into teachable moments. We just wish there weren’t quite so many teachable moments.

This particular piece reprises a number of such moments, including the flap – decades in the making – over the name, Sambo’s, of a popular restaurant chain; as well as a KFC ad with Asian-American actors, a Volkswagen ad with what appeared to be an Arab motorist, and a reference to a name that no story on this topic should omit, the Washington Redskins.

Let the teaching … continue.

Gwen Florio

Tags: buffalo post, Native American news, racism