The Oglala Sioux Indian Tribe of South Dakota is suing owners of four Whiteclay, Neb., liquor stores and the beer distributors and manufacturers serving those stores, accusing them of knowingly providing alcohol that afflicts residents of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where alcohol is banned, reports Kevin Abourezk of the Lincoln Journal Star. The federal suit, filed this week, lists more than a dozen defendants, including Anheuser-Busch and Miller Brewing Co. (Rapid City Journal photo by Kristina Barker: Norman Pipe On Head makes six-packs in Whiteclay store to resell) The suit alleges owners of the four Whiteclay stores violated Nebraska law by selling beer to reservation residents who they knew would transport it to the reservation and resell it. It also alleges the owners accepted sex, pornography and food-assistance vouchers in exchange for beer. According to the suit, 5 million cans of beer were sold at Whiteclay stores in 2010, up from 4.3 million in 2004. It also cites high rates of Indian children born with fetal alcohol syndrome or spectrum disorder, life expectancy between 45 and 52 years, and a teen suicide rate 150 percent higher than the national average.
The suit states "alcohol is a devastating drug to the Lakota people," the name they prefer to Sioux, and they don't "have the resources to properly address families which have been torn apart by alcohol." The effects of alcohol on the tribe and the Lakota "cannot be overstated," it reads. It also says the "vast majority" of beer consumed on the reservation is sold at Whiteclay stores. The tribe is seeking monetary compensation for damages it has suffered. (Read more)
UPDATE, March 6: The New York Times catches up to the story.
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