Events
Peace & Justice Expo
Saturday, April 26 Primary Election
May 13 Email Chuck Hagel Nebraska Peace Stratcom
News and important info on the threat to the world from Omaha. Whiteclay
Updates on Nebraska's tiny reservation border town. Dick Cheney
Impeachment is on the table. Speaking Our Peace Forty & Counting
By Paul Olson, NFP President Global Warming Global Warming Is Alive and Well
By Professor Bruce E. Johansen Peace Matters
Omaha NFP Newsletter StratCom Conference Space Conference
 Alexandra Svoboda
An Injury to One is an Injury to All… Event World Peace forum
 Peace Propaganda Peace Propaganda

The World Is Watching Whiteclay

Mark Vasina
President, Nebraskans for Peace

Nebraska’s refusal to halt the sale of alcohol to the dry Pine Ridge Indian Reservation made international news last month from Washington, D.C. clear across the Atlantic. A volunteer border roadblock, sanctioned by the Oglala Lakota Treaty Council and organized by the Strong Heart Civil Rights Movement (also known as Cante Tenza), succeeded in focusing the world’s attention on the virtually unchecked flow of alcohol purchased from the tiny unincorporated village of Whiteclay onto the Pine Ridge.

For years, four off-sale beer stores in Whiteclay, selling over 12,500 cans of beer daily, have been routinely violating Nebraska liquor law by sales to minors, intoxicated persons and known bootleggers; sales on credit and in exchange for food stamps (EBT); and provision of beer and cigarettes in exchange for sexual favors.

The June 28 roadblock led by Cante Tenza leader Duane Martin, Sr. was organized to interdict the flow of this illegal transport of beer onto the reservation, where the alcoholism rate is conservatively estimated at 80 percent.

Holding the event on the first anniversary of a similar attempt last year which was called off by organizers before it started, Cante Tenza pledged this year to initiate the roadblock — if necessary even in the face of official opposition — while at the same time urging Tribal Police to take it over and operate it.

Roadblock operators — four individuals only, each wearing a bright green safety vest for identification — stopped vehicles as they entered the Pine Ridge and asked drivers whether they were transporting any drugs or alcohol. If a driver answered “no” and the roadblock operator observed no suspicious packages in the vehicle, the vehicle was permitted to pass.

Two to three dozen supporters — including Russell Means (a principal organizer of the roadblock), Floyd Hand (Oglala Lakota Treaty Council elder), Frank LaMere (Nebraska Winnebago Tribe member), and six members of Nebraskans for Peace — witnessed from the side of the road. Some supporters from the Pine Ridge set up a tent to the west.

Protocol established in advance by roadblock organizers — and communicated to the Tribal Police, who have primary jurisdiction on the Pine Ridge — called for nonaggressive and non-invasive actions by roadblock operators. If alcohol was spotted or vehicle occupants became antagonistic, roadblock protocol required operators to refrain from further intervention and to hand the situation over to Tribal Police, who were well represented at the site.

However, despite several meetings during the week preceding the roadblock, organizers failed to come to agreement with Tribal Police. After roadblock operators began stopping vehicles, Police Chief James Twiss ordered them to disperse. Nevertheless, he permitted the roadblock to operate for about ten minutes — during which time several cars were stopped and permitted to proceed without incident. Finally, the roadblock obstruction, a ceremonial staff with a sacred eagle feather and ceremonial spearhead, was removed from the road and traffic moved unimpaired.

For the next few minutes Martin, assisted by attorney Daniel Sheehan and others, negotiated with Twiss over the fate of the roadblock. Other operators moved to the side of the road, remaining on the shoulder but not obstructing traffic. Organizers agreed to disperse and end their roadblock if Tribal Police would agree to assume operation.

Without pledging to take over the roadblock, however, tribal authorities began enforcing the order to disperse. An officer attempted to take the ceremonial staff away from Martin as he stood in the center of the road surrounded by several officers. Martin, who refused to let go of the staff, was taken down by several officers and handcuffed. Seeing Martin go down holding the ceremonial staff, Russell Means emerged from his vehicle parked along the side of the road and moved quickly into the crowd of officers surrounding Martin. Frank LaMere followed. Means was wrestled to the ground and cuffed. LaMere remained standing, but was also cuffed.

The police made six arrests: Martin, Means, LaMere, and three other Native Americans operating the roadblock. All were charged with three counts — disorderly conduct, obstruction, and failure to disperse — and released on cash bond that afternoon. All entered not guilty pleas at arraignment on July 6, and received a December 27 court date.

The importance of the events of June 28 cannot be overstated. They reveal the frustration of concerned residents of the Pine Ridge with the failure of Nebraska state government to address its complicity in the illegal purveyance of alcohol in Whiteclay and the Reservation. Last year, Pine Ridge residents looked on as Nebraska authorities repeatedly rebuffed their concerns for their health and safety — a refusal by the Sheridan County Commissioners to forward to the Nebraska Liquor Commission public concerns about status quo licensing of the Whiteclay dealers; a Nebraska Supreme Court ruling that ordered the Liquor Control Commission to approve a new license in Whiteclay (to replace the license lost by the Arrowhead Inn when the licensee was convicted of a felony); and a ‘not guilty’ verdict to a well-prepared case charging one of the Whiteclay dealers, State Line Liquor, with sale to an intoxicated person (supported by State Patrol cruiser audio and videotape).

The events also highlight the difficulties faced by tribal authorities in their efforts to devise an effective response to Nebraska’s negligence. Ongoing roadblocks at Pine Ridge’s borders are expensive and resource-intensive. Russell Means has suggested a concerted effort by tribal authorities and all other interested parties to secure federal funding for the Oglala Sioux Tribal Police to operate round-the-clock roadblocks at Whiteclay and other entry points to discourage the influx of drug and alcohol contraband. None of these efforts, however, absolve the State of Nebraska of its moral and legal failures to halt the sale of alcohol in Whiteclay.

Judged by the attention of the national media to the ongoing tragedy of Whiteclay, the roadblock was certainly a success. The story was covered by local press (the Rapid City Journal and Sheridan County Journal-Star), Nebraska Public Radio and a video team from HDNet TV, a Denver-based satellite news channel.

But the Associated Press coverage, including pre-event stories, truly traveled far and wide. The Omaha World-Herald and Lincoln Journal Star carried the AP stories, as did the Washington Post, Miami Herald, San Francisco Chronicle, Seattle Times, Houston Chronicle and numerous newspapers throughout the U.S. and Canada. Websites for ABC News, CBS News and CNN reported on the stories, and CNN broadcast a story about the roadblock on their cable television channels. In Europe, the Guardian (London) picked up the AP stories, and the events were reported on the BBC website as well as the website of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization in the Netherlands.

As we go to press a reporter from USA Today is completing an in-depth story about Whiteclay. This may prove to be the very first important national media exposure of our struggle to get Nebraska to change the way it sells alcohol in Whiteclay.