A date hasn't been set but members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe of South Dakota will be voting in a referendum on alcohol sales.

Supporters believe alcohol sales could generate revenues for the tribe. The money could be used for treatment, a council member said.

"It's a disease and if we don't get them any help it will always be there, it's never going to change. This is one way to get it to change, where we can get the funding to seek help for them," Pine Ridge District Representative Larry Eagle Bull, who voted for the referendum, told KELO-TV.

But others say sales will only lead to more health and social problems. They cite a high rate of alcoholism on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

"No amount of money can pay for the damages done to our babies, our children," council member Danielle Labeau, who voted against the referendum, told the Associated Press.

Get the Story:
Alcohol Question Divides Pine Ridge Communities (KELO-TV 6/13)
South Dakota tribal members to vote on alcohol ban (AP 6/13)
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation to vote on alcohol sales (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 6/13)

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Kevin Abourezk: Oglala Sioux Tribe approves vote on alcohol (6/12)