By J. G. / Deep Green Resistance Great Plains
Women of the Oglala Lakota nation along with activists from Deep Green Resistance, AIM Grassroots, Native Youth Movement, Un-Occupy Albuquerque, Occupy Lincoln, and Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center took part in a march from Billy Mills Hall in Pine Ridge into Whiteclay to protest against the predatory liquor industry present there.
Whiteclay has a population of 14, yet 4 liquor stores in the town sell 12,500 cans of beer each day. The stores have been documented repeatedly selling to bootleggers, intoxicated people, minors, and trading beer for sexual favors.
“For over 100 years the women of the Oglala Lakota nation have been dealing with an attack on the mind body and spirit of their relatives”, says Olowan Martinez who is a main organizer of the event and resident of Pine Ridge. “The Oglala have been silenced through chemical warfare waged by the corporations who are out to exploit and make a profit off of the suffering and misery of our people. The time has come to end this suffering by any means necessary.”
Debra White Plume, a Lakota activist and resident of Pine Ridge who spoke at the event proclaimed, “A sober Indian is a dangerous Indian. We have to send a message to Nebraska and its citizens that we are not going to tolerate business as usual. This is the Women’s Day of Peace but that peace will soon be over”.
After the march and speeches members of Deep Green Resistance locked down and blockaded the road into Whiteclay.
Less than a half hour after the lockdown began a police officer rolled down their window and indiscriminately pepper sprayed into a crowd. Up to 12 people were pepper sprayed including the 10 year old son of a Lakota woman who helped organize the march. Also, an elder Lakota woman, Helen Red Feather, reported having her leg hit by a police car in motion. Medics with the protest treated pepper spray injuries.
At 7:39, the five activists who participated in the lock down were hauled off in a horse trailer to the Sheridan County jail in Rushville. They have since been released on their own recognizance.
Today, justice is far from complete, since Whiteclay continues to enable and enact the destruction of the Oglala Lakota and the people of Pine Ridge. The continued subjugation of the Oglala Lakota of the Pine Ridge Reservation will not end as long as the liquor stores in Whiteclay continue to operate.
Chants of “As long as it takes!” began by those locked down and the people standing with them in the crowd at the beginning of the lockdown. The struggle continues.
For context behind the Women’s March and Day of Peace, as well as pictures from the action, please see http://dgrnewsservice.org/2012/08/26/womens-day-of-peace-action-in-white-clay/
Want to help support this action? Please see http://deepgreenresistance.org/feature-help-support-indigenous-solidarity-in-whiteclay/
Para leer este articulo en español, vea: http://dgrnewsservice.org/2012/08/29/la-marcha-de-mujeres-y-el-dia-de-paz-resulto-ser-violente-manifestantes-detenidos/
If the liquor stores are on native land and the natives wish them to go, then why are the stores permitted to stay? Mr. Obama please answer.
The liquor stores are not on Native land, but just feet away from the dry Pine Ridge Reservation. They are there to exploit weaknesses and make lots of blood money…
white clay is off reservation, President Obama had nothing to do with reservation/state boundaries goofy beth !!
the fact that you ask the president shows you have absolutely no clue how tribal politics works. nor did you even read the article. shut up.
Excellent and disturbing post about very brave folk. We support your struggle – it is our struggle as well x
White Clay is the pride and money maker for Nebraska. It is evident how the police came to protect the town of 14.
It’s illegal to block the public road. If they wanted to do thst they have to file a permit to do so. But the random pepper spraying is wrong.
a road through the reservation is not public it is a privet road
The road they were blocking is a Nebraska state highway, china, get it right.
White Clay is a huge problem but like I said in the past and will say many times again change must come from within our people’s if they don’t get it in White clay they haul it in from elsewhere…..closing down liquor stores here and there does not solve a problem that our people’s choose not to change all over this Country it is only laying the blame other than where it belongs.
I agree with your wisdom to a point. I see what you say. I think this though. It must start some where. Lighting a fire yes you need to light it in many places to burn well. You must start somewhere though.
i agree 100%.These folks are essentualy trying to reenact prohibition.Trying to legislate morality is the stupidist idea anyone ever had.I agree that the people running the stores are exploiting the weaknesses of people,i can drink if i want to,but i choose not to.Many people do not drink at all by their own choice.
If they wanted to keep it dry. The cops needs to do the prevention work n checks on the road when they re enter the rez. No use blaming Obama when the cops don’t do a thing to stop it.
I came to this page from a FB post from a political page. I thought you might want to see what the person wrote. It supports the story.
http://www.facebook.com/thethinkerthinksthings
White Clay is a blight on the landscape of America. It’s a typical example of how someone wants to make money out of someone else’
s misery. White Clay practically supports the state with the income and tax from selling all that beer while South Dakota gets nothing from it but lots of car accidents, people dead from drinking and the other problems caused by drinking,. It makes me sick that just because they are inches across the order they make millions of dollars off the misery of others. With only 14 “residents” White Clay really isn’t a town at all and the state shouldn’t let it act as one. They are basically letting a few people man 4 stores where the state rakes in the money. It’s disgusting. Everyone acts like the people of Pine Ridge just shouldn’t come over the border and buy liquor as if they have a choice. Alcoholism is not that simple and with the lack of jobs and even the hope of a better life non-existent the rate of depression is nearly insurmountable. Try and kick depression and alcoholism by yourself then make those stupid statements.
Dear Wendy, I very much agree with you. I am friends with a descendent of a great Cheyenne-Lakota chief on the reservation, and they have enough challenges besides this problem. So many are heroically trying to cope and this is an insult. It’s nice to hear of others who care. Terri
Some of us choose to resist such things all the time.Maybe they could stop drinking long enough to do something positive with their town.They must be loaded,how else do people who have a hard time getting jobs,and who deal with severe depression,with only 14 residents no less manage to not only support 4 liqour stores,but the whole state budget it sounds like?
If anyone wants to be great again,stop blaming the problem on alchahol,or even the greedy,short sighted people who exploit whoever and whatever they can.We all have to deal with this same problem.Me,i would be advocating that the community put them out of business by not buying.People all around my neighborhood use meth.no one in my household does.If they chose to,they will no longer be welcome in my household.Someone is driving drunk and has an accident where someone is killed,or made a vegetable.Execute them.Catch them driving drunk.Take their license and their vehicle.Drunk in public?arrest them,and put them on a chain gang for a while.no alchahol.
Congratulations on your heroic efforts to survive with dignity and good health! This is your Right! No law, no government, no person , no entity can take this Right away from you. With our support and Aloha, Steve
Can’t a flaming arrow take care of this? If they keep burning them down, maybe they won’t come back.
The White Clay selling of liquor a few feet from the state line and Pine Ridge Reservation continues to show the extreme greed, lack of human caring and dignity, and the perpetuation of the wicked spirit of the massacre at Wounded Knee Creek, which is not far on the same reservation. I’ve driven through there. It is appalling and sickening to see the people camped out on the store fronts waiting for them to open, the palid color on their sad faces with their sad lives, waiting for the bait to be unleashed. The distributors and store owners are worse than the traders in the 1800’s
beating alcohol and drug addiction is no small task, you need a lot of support from people who care. i believe turning to traditional healing and practices people can beat alcoholism, it worked for me. alcohol has never been our way, it has changed our people. but through tradition and becoming who we are as natives again, whether it is through pow wow, sports, prayer or all of these, alcoholism can and will be a thing of our past. healing will come from within ourselves not from burning down a store or laying blame on a president, he can’t turn our lives around, but we can. we are a strong, loving, caring, humorous, beautiful people, let’s be that.
Virgil your words are so true.It must be an act of will.How can anyone not become pissed off about being exploited,this would harden my reserve.This is an easy battle,because it is something that someone can choose.Try living in the general society without a job,or money.It is a challenge,but not so hard when you don’t want their jobs because you don’t want to be part of the problem,and you don’t want their stinking chump change monopoly money.It is really fun to live this way,and be succesful though.
My prayers go out to my family in pine ridge. This opression has gone on for to long. When will the USA finaly respect the treaty that was made with the lakota? When will they finaly listen to what the people want and not their own greedy needs. Im done with the power they think they have over the people. enough is enough!
the men and women need to become healthy again and live by the law that was broken “the peoples law” and need to come together as one again instead of what reserve your from and enforce that law again !!
The deputy was surrounded by a hostile (keep in mind I said hostile not violent) crowd which refused to disperse from around his cruiser. If you don’t want pepper sprayed, don’t interfere with a police officer upholding his DUTY to uphold the law. As far as the horse trailer… Issue one, seatbelts… Only the driver and passengers under the age of 18 are required to wear them. If the protestors wanted them, they could have unhooked themselves and been buckled up nice and safe in a patrol vehicle. Issue two, animal feces…. Do I really need to say this??? The protestors had just WILLINGLY laid down on a state highway which has blood, urine, feces, flesh, chemicals and god knows what else on it and then they want to complain about livestock manure which is for all purposes digested vegetation… The law enforcement was doing its job of upholding the law, not supporting White Clay. It’s simple… Don’t break the law and you can protest all you want.