Legislature advances health task force for Whiteclay

Lawmakers gave first-round approval March 9 to a bill that would create a special task force to research the public health implications of alcohol sales on the Whiteclay community. Although alcohol is banned on the Pine Ridge Reservation, a large number of tribal members travel the two miles across the South Dakota border to patronize Whiteclay’s liquor stores.

Legislature advances health task force for Whiteclay

Lawmakers gave first-round approval March 9 to a bill that would create a special task force to research the public health implications of alcohol sales on the Whiteclay community. Although alcohol is banned on the Pine Ridge Reservation, a large number of tribal members travel the two miles across the South Dakota border to patronize Whiteclay’s liquor stores.

Group targets beer stores near Native American reservation

In this Oct. 21, 2016, photo, a vehicle waits outside the Arrowhead Inn, one of the four beer stores in Whiteclay, Neb. The Lakota Hope faith ministry in Whiteclay has started a fundraising campaign to buy out the four beer stores that sell millions of cans annually in the tiny village next to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.

Nebraska town’s massive beer sales likely not in danger

Officials have recommended that a small Nebraska town whose four beer stores sold the equivalent of 3.5 million cans in 2015 be allowed to maintain liquor sales despite ongoing concerns over widespread alcoholism on a bordering Native American reservation. County officials voted 3-0 Tuesday to recommend that the state renew the liquor licenses of the stores in Whiteclay, a town with a dozen full-time residents that abuts the dry Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.