Maybe the stores need to be a little more sensitive on this. At the very least, maybe, post appropriate signs to show they have changed their policy and no longer sell to the reservation's residents.
Posted on 02/09/2012 12:23:56 PM PST by Osage Orange
Oglala Sioux Tribe sues Whiteclay stores, beer makers, distributors
LINCOLN, Neb. -- The Oglala Sioux Tribe of South Dakota is suing the owners of four beer stores in Whiteclay, plus the beer distributors and manufacturers serving those stores.
The tribe's lawsuit, filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court of Nebraska, lists more than a dozen defendants, including beer manufacturers Anheuser-Busch and Miller Brewing Co. The 10-page lawsuit alleges the beer distributors and manufacturers knowingly provided alcohol to the four beer stores, which, in turn, sold alcohol to residents of South Dakota's Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where alcohol is banned.
It alleges the defendants violated the tribe's alcohol ban as well as Nebraska law by providing alcohol to the reservation's residents, knowing those residents would transport the alcohol into the reservation and resell much of that beer to other reservation residents.
The lawsuit also alleges the owners of the four beer stores sold alcohol to intoxicated people and accepted sex, pornographic photos and food assistance vouchers in exchange for beer.
"Alcohol is a devastating drug to the Lakota people," the lawsuit states. "The vast majority of beer consumed in the town of Pine Ridge and the (reservation) is sold in Whiteclay establishments."
Tribal representatives and members of Nebraskans for Peace, which has long urged shutting down the beer stores in Whiteclay, planned to hold a 1 p.m. news conference Thursday in the Capitol Rotunda to discuss the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges the four beer stores sold nearly 5 million cans of beer in 2010, up from 4.3 million cans in 2004. The tribe is seeking monetary compensation "for all damages it has suffered in the past and is reasonably likely to suffer in the future caused by the actions of the defendants and as established at trial."
"The (tribe) does not have the resources to properly address families which have been torn apart by alcohol," the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit cites numerous statistics regarding the impact of the sale of alcohol at Whiteclay on reservation residents, including: one in four children being born with either fetal alcohol syndrome or fetal alcohol spectrum disorder; an average reservation life expectancy of between 45 and 52 years; and a teen suicide rate that is 150 percent higher than the American average.
"The devastating and horrible effects of alcohol on the (Oglala Sioux Tribe) and the Lakota people cannot be overstated," the lawsuit states.
I think around here...you can buy a six-pack of some light 16oz beers for around $6....So that would be around a buck a can.
You deserve to smash your thumb. It would not have happened if you would have kept both hands on the hammer.
Per store
I had a couple cousins..( They are both gone now..and I loved them both!! )
One who was closer to my age....we used to grab a bottle of Ripple...and drive around and drink. About half-way thru...he was crazy drunk...and I was just buzzed. My Uncle, his dad was a full blood Indian...his mom my aunt was at least near 50% Indian.
I myself...Well my grandma was at least 50% Indian too......but I could handle booze way better than those cousins. I think...there is something to Indians not metabolizing alcohol the same as white folks.
I think there is some scientific data out there...that supports that too. But I don't know for sure...
Found this related article:
http://www.hhrjournal.org/index.php/hhr/article/view/263/396
Righting a century of wrongs: Whiteclay, Nebraska
Published September 29, 2009
“Whiteclay, Nebraska, population 14 (more or less) has been called the “skid row of the plains” for its four liquor stores, which all do brisk business — approximately 12,000 cans of beer a day. The visitors buying the beer are from South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation — less than 200 feet from the town line — where alcohol is illegal and alcoholism has ravaged the community.”
“The director of Oglala Sioux Lakota Housing said a few months ago that the reservation needs 4,000 new homes for its 40,000 residents. And men on Pine Ridge have, after Haiti, the lowest life expectancy in the Western Hemisphere (48 years); for women, it’s 52. Half of Pine Ridge residents over 40 have diabetes.”
“And while over 90% of customers at the Whiteclay liquor stores are from Pine Ridge, if they are jailed in Nebraska for drinking-related offenses, they aren’t eligible for Nebraska’s subsidized treatment centers — those are for state residents.”
Don’t give Holder any ideas.............
Like the song actually......
Now that was funny.... just sprayed Dt. Dew over my work laptop ...
Exactly! I can see the negative side of what’s coming for the USA but I see enough good things happening at the grassroots level that I have complete confidence and optimism that we’ll get through the rough stuff and emerge winners.
Maybe the stores need to be a little more sensitive on this. At the very least, maybe, post appropriate signs to show they have changed their policy and no longer sell to the reservation's residents.
Uh huh, I knew it! It's never the customers' fault.
So is there going to be a retaliatory suit by gambling addicts?
I think that's already happened.....
Geesh Fish Hawk...what kind of hammer you swinging?
I think there is some scientific data out there...that supports that too. But I don't know for sure...
There is a lot of scientific evidence that there is a connection between ancestry and alcoholism. There is a map of estimated years of life lost to alcohol abuse at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Alcohol_use_disorders_world_map_-_DALY_-_WHO2002.svg
It clearly shows that the middle east enjoys the lowest incidence, and as one moves farther from there the incidence increases. Some scientists speculate this has to do with number of generations exposed to alcohol - that there is a natural selection process whereby, due to early death, alcohol abusers are gradually eliminated from the gene pool.
Native Americans apparently were not exposed to alcohol before Europeans arrived, and so the process of weeding-out those unable to handle alcohol is in its early stages.
So Native Americans have higher rates of alcohol abuse. But, like all human beings, they have free will to indulge or not. And the consequences should not be a surprise.
Mormans and muslims aren’t supposed to partake either. Carding is soon going to be a long drawn out process if you have to check residence address, race, religion, age, etc. But that’s racist! Or is it in this case? Yes, it is. No, they are victims. Ughhh, I’m so confused!!!
That’s “Inmate Holder” to you! LOL!
Oh, lord ... can't believe I said that last part! Heaven help us!
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