The Effects of Alcohol Solicitation on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
Whiteclay, Nebraska is a small town located 2 miles south of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The town operates four liquor stores and sells approximately 4 million cans of beer annually to a consumer group consisting mainly of Pine Ridge Sioux Tribal members, traditionally referred to as "Oglala". Though Pine Ridge is legally dry (alcohol solicitation is banned within tribally owned land), Oglala communities have a dangerously high rate of alcohol-related offenses and deaths. Due to minimal law enforcement and jurisdictional complexities in Whiteclay, illegal acts often go unpunished. The alcohol sales in Whiteclay thrive off of the Oglala's poor economic and spiritual conditions.
This research covers the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and the impact of the alcohol trade on a people's culture and way of life, as well as their contemporary struggle in overcoming addiction and loss of tradition. The study involves qualitative, analytical, and indigenous methodologies. Two subjects who have legal and spiritual understandings of Native American contemporary issues are interviewed. The research purpose is to bring to public attention alcohol solicitation's destruction of Native American health and culture. The rights of North American indigenous peoples depend on this voice.
This research covers the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and the impact of the alcohol trade on a people's culture and way of life, as well as their contemporary struggle in overcoming addiction and loss of tradition. The study involves qualitative, analytical, and indigenous methodologies. Two subjects who have legal and spiritual understandings of Native American contemporary issues are interviewed. The research purpose is to bring to public attention alcohol solicitation's destruction of Native American health and culture. The rights of North American indigenous peoples depend on this voice.
School:
Haskell Indian Nations University
Department:
Native American Studies / Business Administration
Research Advisor:
Antonia Darder
Department of Research Advisor:
Educational Policy Studies
Year of Publication:
2008