Opinion

Opinion: Beer brewers exploit members of Oglala Sioux Tribe





"After seeing Anheuser-Busch’s devastating exploitation of American Indians, I’m done with its beer.

The human toll is evident here in Whiteclay: men and women staggering on the street, or passed out, whispers of girls traded for alcohol. The town has a population of about 10 people, but it sells more than four million cans of beer and malt liquor annually — because it is the main channel through which alcohol illegally enters the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation a few steps away.

Pine Ridge, one of America’s largest Indian reservations, bans alcohol. The Oglala Sioux who live there struggle to keep alcohol out, going so far as to arrest people for possession of a can of beer. But the tribe has no jurisdiction over Whiteclay because it is just outside the reservation boundary."

Get the Story:
Nicholas D. Kristof: A Battle With the Brewers (The New York Times 5/6)

Related Stories:
Liquor companies reply to Oglala Sioux Tribe's Whiteclay suit (5/1)
BBC News: Oglala Sioux Tribe goes to bat with liquor industry (4/27)
Alcohol industry spends big despite Whiteclay problems (4/12)
Kevin Abourezk: Oglala Sioux Tribe amends Whiteclay lawsuit (4/4)
SDPR: Oglala Sioux Tribe sues over liquor sales in Whiteclay (4/2)
Five from Pine Ridge Reservation face bootlegging charges (03/16)
Liquor from Whiteclay invades every aspect of reservation life (3/6)
Letter: Oglala Sioux Tribe should consider a 'wet' reservation (3/5)
Stephanie Woodard: Whiteclay Liquor -- Gold mines in hell (2/22)
Letter: Alcohol sales at Whiteclay nothing short of 'genocide' (2/16)
Lawmakers consider alcohol zone bill amid Whiteclay lawsuit (2/14)
Kevin Abourezk: Legal doubts in Oglala Sioux Whiteclay suit (2/13)
Kevin Abourezk: Oglala Sioux Tribe in $500M Whiteclay case (2/10)
Oglala Sioux Tribe files lawsuit targeting liquor in Whiteclay (2/9)

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