Pine Ridge, South Dakota, one of America’s largest Indian reservations and one of the poorest places in the country, bans alcohol. The Oglala Sioux who live there struggle to keep alcohol out, going so far as to arrest people for possession of a can of beer. But the tribe has no jurisdiction over Whiteclay, Nebraska, just a few steps away over the border, because it is just outside the reservation boundary.
So Anheuser-Busch and other brewers pour hundreds of thousands of gallons of alcohol into the liquor stores of Whiteclay, knowing that it ends up consumed illicitly by Pine Ridge residents and fuels alcoholism, crime and misery there.
In other words, a giant corporation's business model is based on violating tribal rules and destroying an entire way of living.
Dear August Busch IV,
Anheuser-Busch and other brewers pour hundreds of thousands of gallons of alcohol into the liquor stores of Whiteclay, Nebraska,alcohol that ends up consumed illicitly by Pine Ridge residents and fuels alcoholism, crime and misery there.
Pine Ridge, South Dakota, one of America’s largest Indian reservations and one of the poorest places in the country, bans alcohol. The Oglala Sioux who live there struggle to keep alcohol out, going so far as to arrest people for possession of a can of beer. But the tribe has no jurisdiction over Whiteclay, Nebraska, because it is just outside the reservation boundary.
Please stop selling this alcohol to Whiteclay, for by doing so, you are promoting the violation of tribal rules and destroying an entire way of living.
Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.
