Pine Ridge Reservation still dry after all these years

Friday, May 18, 2007  

The Pine Ridge Reservation is the only reservation in South Dakota to remain dry. Many people want it to stay that way.

But others say alcohol is a reality that the Oglala Sioux Tribe can't ignore. "The white people tried Prohibition. It didn’t work," Alma Brewer, a retired substance counselor, told The Rapid City Journal.

Supporters of a wet reservation say revenues from liquor sales could be used to fund alcohol and substance abuse programs. They say it could eradicate bootlegging and regulate an industry that benefits non-Indians in the border town of Whiteclay, Nebraska.

"They contribute nothing back to our people," said tribal councilman Tom Poor Bear. "The border towns are sure getting rich off us."

But many others cite the destructive nature of alcohol as one reason to support the ban. "It would be just bringing the whole problem and setting it right in the middle of us," said Kay Red Hail. "We don’t need that."

Get the Story:
Principle or practical: Reservation alcohol ban sparks debate (The Rapid City Journal 5/18)

Whiteclay Series:
Standing at the Crossroads (Lincoln Journal Star June 2005)

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