Residents of the Pine Ridge reservation buy beer and malt liquor in stores in Whiteclay, Neb.By TIMOTHY WILLIAMS
The Oglala Sioux Tribe will propose lifting an alcohol ban on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota as a way to regulate the flow of beer and malt liquor onto the reservation, which has been plagued by alcohol problems for years, officials said Thursday.
Pine Ridge is a dry reservation where tribal members can be arrested if the police even suspect signs of drunkenness, like slurred speech or a wobbly gait. The reservation has disproportionately high rates of health and crime problems related to drinking.
This week, a federal court judge in Nebraska dismissed the tribe's $500 million lawsuit against beer dealers in the neighboring town of Whiteclay, Neb., where four stores sell some 13,000 cans of beer and malt liquor each day, almost all of it to residents of Pine Ridge. Whiteclay has a population of about 10 people, while Pine Ridge has 45,000.
James Big Boy, chairman of the Oglala Sioux's Law and Order Committee, said he planned to submit a proposal to the tribal council during the next few weeks calling for a public vote on whether to permit alcohol sales on Pine Ridge. It is unlikely, however, that a referendum could be held before scheduled tribal elections in November.
Mr. Big Boy said lifting the ban would help the tribe control habitual alcohol consumption, reduce drunken-driving fatalities and use tax revenue to finance diversion and education programs. Pine Ridge is the only reservation in South Dakota that prohibits alcohol.
"I think it's time to legalize alcohol," Mr. Big Boy said. "It would reduce the risk of people going to border towns and endangering their lives, and we could use the money to build a family treatment center."
Continue Reading: nytimes.com
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