Published Friday December 18, 2009
BY KERRI REMPP
THE CHADRON RECORD

Frustrations at the lack of progress on the issue of Whiteclay alcohol sales were evident Friday at a legislative hearing telecast in Chadron, but several solutions were also suggested to rein in alcohol sales and help those dependent on the substance.

“Going into Whiteclay, it’s like going into a black hole,” testified Terri White Eyes, who works with a drug and alcohol program on the reservation. (more…)

Published Friday, September 25, 2009
BY NATE JENKINS
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

As Nebraska lawmakers gathered Friday at the state Capitol talk about how to help his alcohol-drenched town, which has vexed politicians, local American Indians and activists for decades, Lance Moss let out a groan in Whiteclay.

He’s heard it all before.

“I get so sick of the same old rhetoric from people who visit here once a year and walk around,” then try to solve its problems, said Moss, owner of Whiteclay Grocery. “Have you ever heard of anyone solving an alcoholic’s problem for them? People need to make a conscience choice to change their way of living.” (more…)

Published Saturday March 7, 2009
OMAHA WORLD-HERALD

1998 — Activists ask the Nebraska Liquor Commission to shut down four liquor stores in Whiteclay, saying the stores exploit American Indians who live on the nearby Pine Ridge reservation. (more…)

Published Wednesday February 4, 2009
BY SARAH MELECKI
DAILY NEBRASKAN

Whiteclay, Neb., a northern border town with a population of only 14, has been making headlines for more than 10 years. Newspapers from as far away as Washington, D.C. have run stories on the town.

Reporters come to Whiteclay not to report on the good deeds of the community but to spread the story of the four businesses with liquor licenses and the thousands of customers who come to buy beer.  (more…)

Download The Study Guide to accompany The Battle for Whiteclay.

Published Thursday September 6, 2007
BY NATE JENKINS
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LINCOLN, Neb. — One semitrailer a week normally passes through Whiteclay, delivering enough food to fill two small grocery stores in the village, population 14, and those in a few nearby towns.

Before a recent celebration on the adjacent Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where alcohol is officially barred but holds one of the poorest, most alcohol-ravaged populations in the country, the food truck was outnumbered by three others that arrived the same day.

They deliver another staple of the area — beer. (more…)

Published Thursday July 7, 2005
BY FROMA HARROP
SYNDICATED COLUMNIST/PROVIDENCE JOURNAL

WHITECLAY, Neb. — It’s only 9 a.m. and a Monday, and inebriated Indians are already lying on the dusty curb here in Whiteclay. This speck of a town has 16 people and three beer stores. Its main business is selling alcohol to the residents of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, just over the state line in South Dakota.

The situation in Whiteclay has become an obsession for both Nebraskans and the Oglala Sioux. Alcohol is a curse for many Native Americans, and the reservation bans its sale or possession. Good people see the Whiteclay business as despicable exploitation. (more…)

Published June 10, 2005
BY CELESTE CALVITTO
RAPID CITY JOURNAL

WASHINGTON — A community policing program aimed at dealing with the fallout from alcohol sales in Whiteclay, Neb., to American Indians from nearby Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is on track for more federal funding, Rep. Stephanie Herseth, D-S.D., said Thursday.

Herseth and Rep. Tom Osborne, R-Neb., have requested $100,000 to provide continued support for the project, in which the state of Nebraska will deputize members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe police to patrol Whiteclay. (more…)

Published June 10, 2005
BY KEVIN ABOUREZK
LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR

A group of 15 state senators took a stand together Thursday, signing a letter in which they called upon the state of Nebraska to do more to address the devastating effects of alcohol sales in the border town of Whiteclay.

The letter was to be delivered to Oglala Sioux tribal leaders at a Saturday march from Pine Ridge, S.D., to Whiteclay to mark the sixth anniversary of the unsolved deaths of two Oglala men, said Mark Vasina, president of Nebraskans for Peace. (more…)

Published Thursday June 9, 2005
BY SCOTT BAUER
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Fifteen state senators signed a letter Thursday addressed to the Oglala Sioux Tribe in South Dakota, saying that the state of Nebraska needs to do more to address alcohol problems in the border town of Whiteclay. (more…)