Originally published Feb. 13, 2001

In response to ongoing complaints about beer sales in the reservation border town of Whiteclay, Gov. Mike Johanns Monday proposed a summit of Nebraska officials and Oglala Lakota leaders.

Although dates and details have yet to be worked out, Johanns said the summit would likely involve himself, Lt. Gov. Dave Maurstad and appropriate state agency directors, as well as leaders from the Pine Ridge Reservation in southwestern South Dakota.

“Since we’ll have the decision-makers right there, we can indicate to them what we can and what we can’t do,” Johanns said.

At issue are annual sales of an estimated 4 million cans of beer by four off-sale stores in the unincorporated village of 22, which lies just south of the nation’s second-largest Indian reservation. Much of the beer is bought by residents of Pine Ridge, where alcohol consumption is banned and alcoholism rates run as high as 90 percent.

Native advocates have said Whiteclay is rampant with liquor-law violations, including public drinking, sales to intoxicated persons and bootlegging. Monday the governor requested increased enforcement in Whiteclay by the Nebraska State Patrol.

“If we have a problem with alcohol sales in Lincoln or Omaha, my response would be, ’How can we deal with that?’” Johanns said. “We’re here to try to figure out how to deal with those issues, not to tell people how to go away and get lost.“

The summit proposal originated from a meeting Monday between Johanns and a delegation from the Oglala Lakota Nation, including tribal President John Yellow Bird Steele. Representatives from Nebraskans for Peace, which has petitioned the state Liquor Commission to revoke beer permits in Whiteclay, attended the meeting, as did Frank LaMere, a Winnebago from South Sioux City who has worked on Whiteclay issues for several years.

“I for one am very much excited about the prospect of a summit to deal once and for all with the very complex issues and problems at Whiteclay,” LaMere said.

LaMere and Yellow Bird Steele came to Lincoln three years ago to protest to the commission on Whiteclay beer sales. At the time, they testified about pandering, trading beer for stolen property and unattended deaths of Native people that were often ruled “exposure” by authorities.

“I dare say,not a lot has changed unfortunately in these three years,” LaMere said, expressing dismay that the commission has chosen not to shut down the beer businesses.

Over the past two years, Nebraska officers have made hundreds of alcohol-related arrests in Whiteclay but have written only four tickets against two business owners, according to the State Patrol. The commission has said the violations did not provide grounds to revoke permits.

In response to past complaints to the commission, Whiteclay store owners have denied allegations of wrongdoing.

In the spring of 1999, the discovery of two Lakota men beaten to death in a road ditch north of Whiteclay touched off a series of protest marches to the Nebraska border town. Nebraska authorities arrested nine of the marchers who crossed a police barricade on July 3, 1999. LaMere and Yellow Bird Steele were among those arrested who still face misdemeanor charges in Sheridan County.

The murders of Wilson “Wally” Black Elk Jr., and Ronald Hard Heart remain unsolved, although FBI Special Agent Mark Vukelich of Rapid City, S.D., said Monday an investigator continues to pursue leads in the case.

While LaMere said he thinks the summit can mark a fresh start in relations between the Oglala Lakota and Nebraska, a land ownership dispute appears destined for court. The tribe is poised to file a lawsuit in federal court citing treaties and seeking the return of a portion of Nebraska that includes Whiteclay, he added.

Tim Rinne, state coordinator for Nebraskans for Peace, also was hopeful progress could be made. His organization helped coordinate Monday’s meetings with the governor and representatives from the commission and the State Patrol.

“The governor was the most gracious, receptive and open of anybody we have met with,” Rinne said.