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.

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.