Hometown U.S.A.: Whiteclay, Neb.: Liquor stores divide a dry reservation

[OmahaBlueDog]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-hometown-pine-ridge-20130203,0,375984.story?page=1

On a narrow road two miles from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, State Line Liquor beckons.

Inside, "Native Pride" caps line a wall and sodas fill a cooler. But more often than not, people come for Budweiser and malt liquors with names like Tilt Watermelon and Hurricane.

Alcohol has been banned on the South Dakota reservation for generations, so people come to State Line or three other beer and wine stores in Whiteclay for a case, a can or whatever a handful of change will buy.

Alcohol sales near dry reservations have long been a problem, but in Whiteclay the tension between dry and wet, between Indian and non-Indian, stands out in sharp relief.

[jwirr]

1. I was able to see this first hand during the Wounded Knee uprising in 72. Very sad situation and it

seems it still exists.