March planned over Whiteclay liquor sales
Posted by ErthAvengr to NDN AIM
http://www.indianz.com
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2002
Frank LaMere, a member of the Winnebago Tribe who is active in Democrat
politics, is organizing a protest of the sale of liquor to Native Americans
in Nebraska.
LaMere said the protest will take place at the State Capitol on March 1, the
state's birthday. He said the state has ignored the problems at Whiteclay,
where 4 million cans of beer are sold a year, mostly to residents of the
nearby Pine Ridge Reservation.
Get the Story:
Group wants liquor commissioners ousted (The Lincoln Journal Star 12/4)
Group wants liquor commissioners ousted
BY BRIAN G. CARLSON / Lincoln Journal Star
Nebraskans for Peace is calling on
Gov. Mike Johanns to remove all three members of the Nebraska Liquor Control
Commission for their handling of alcohol sales in Whiteclay. Tim Rinne, state
coordinator of Nebraskans for Peace, said the commission has failed to uphold
the state's liquor laws in Whiteclay, a town of just 14 people in northwest
Nebraska along the South Dakota border.
More than 11,000 cans of beer per day are sold at off-sale beer outlets
there, mostly to Natives on the nearby Pine Ridge Reservation. Alcohol is
banned on the reservation. Nebraskans for Peace says the stores routinely
violate state law by selling to intoxicated people and letting patrons drink
outside on the business property. "It is time for Governor Johanns to clean
house at the commission," Rinne said. "Can the whole lot." Nebraskans for
Peace has protested the situation at Whiteclay for two years. Activists drank
alcohol publicly at the liquor commission and in the governor's office as a
show of protest. The organization had accused Bob Logsdon, the commission's
chairman, of slander for saying during a public hearing that a Nebraskans for
Peace photographer paid Natives to pose for photographs while drinking
illegally in Whiteclay. The state attorney general's office ruled that
Logsdon's remarks did not constitute slander. Logsdon declined to comment
Tuesday. Chris Peterson, a spokesman for Johanns, said the governor was
willing to listen to concerns about Whiteclay. But he rejects Nebraskans for
Peace's characterization of the commission. "Their allegations and
accusations don't seem to cover any new ground,"he said. "Governor Johanns
certainly has no plans to fire one or all of the members of the commission."
Frank LaMere, a member of the Winnebago Tribe who was arrested during a
protest at Whiteclay in 1999, said he would organize a protest at the Capitol
on March 1, the state's birthday. LaMere said he expected "hundreds, if not
thousands" of people to descend on Lincoln to protest alcohol sales at
Whiteclay. He said the alcohol sales have increased alcoholism on the
reservation, devastated families and led to a number of deaths. "Our pleas
have gone unheard," he said. "Our resolve has gone unnoticed." LaMere said he
hoped the one-year period following the March 1 protest could be used as a
"year of reconciliation" to resolve the situation at Whiteclay.
Reach Brian
G. Carlson at 473-7251 or bcarlson@journalstar.com.
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