Published November 8, 2009
CINEFILMS.org
BY D.E. LEVINE

Heroes come in many forms and the hero in this film is a local Nebraska activist named Frank LaMere. (more…)

Posted Tuesday May 5, 2009
BY NANCY MITCHELL
PSLweb.org

Film showings document struggle for self determination

On April 28, an overflow crowd packed a coffee shop screening of “Battle for Whiteclay,” hosted by the South Dakota ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism). The film documents the struggle of the residents of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota and their allies to shut down four predatory liquor stores across the border in Whiteclay, Neb. It features Native American activists Frank LaMere, Duane Martin, Sr. and Russell Means. (more…)

Published Wednesday February 4, 2009
BY ROBERT NELSON
OMAHA WORLD-HERALD

Whiteclay, Nebraska.

Plan your summer vacation now. Come see the Good Life in action.

Beautiful Whiteclay.

Come for the high-gravity malt liquor. Stay because you’re too drunk to move. (more…)

Nebraska’s skid-row on the prairie

Published February 01, 2009
BY ED HOWARD
NEBRASKA STATEPAPER.COM

There is a scene in Mark Vasina’s film The Battle for Whiteclay that provides what is likely the single best civics lesson to be found on film.

Any film. (more…)

Published Friday Jan 30, 2009
BY KEVIN ABOUREZK
LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR / GROUND ZERO

As a reporter for this newspaper, I’ve covered the struggle for change in the reservation border town of Whiteclay for the better part of the past decade.

Controversy over alcohol sales in Whiteclay, where four beer stores sell an estimated 11,000 cans of beer a day, have long garnered headlines. The stores largely make their profit off Oglala Sioux tribal members living on the nearby Pine Ridge Indian Reservation of South Dakota, where alcohol is banned. (more…)

Published December 14, 2008
BY NANCY KELSEY
REZNET (www.reznetnews.org)

LINCOLN, Neb. — Just south of Pine Ridge, S.D., is a place that Frank LaMere calls Nebraska’s “dirty little secret.” (more…)

Published Wednesday June 25th, 2008
BY BRUCE MILLER
SIOUX CITY JOURNAL ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
BRUCEBLOG

I saw the premiere of “The Battle for Whiteclay” at the Orpheum Theatre Wednesday night and wondered why it wasn’t snapped up as the centerpiece for Tolerance Week. The documentary — about the Native American battle to close four liquor stores in Whiteclay, Neb. — is just ripe for such a showcase.

The film, which features local activist Frank La Mere (who’s a compelling speaker in just about every venue), should be acquired for one of PBS’ many documentary series. It has inherent drama and a fascinating storyline. (more…)

June 2008
BY FRAN KAYE
PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH, UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN

The day after I received my review copy of The Battle for Whiteclay, my brother told me that our friend Jamie Yellow Horse was dead. Funny, irrepressible Jamie, who a year ago had stood with us outside the governor’s mansion to protest against the scheduled execution of Carey Dean Moore. Jamie, who always insisted on tuning the car radio away from my sacred NPR to Country-Western. Jamie, who moved back to Pine Ridge last fall, concerned that he would not survive another winter on the streets of Lincoln. Jamie Yellow Horse, who survived the winter but not the spring, drinking on the streets of Whiteclay. (more…)