Womens Day of Peace: No More Alcohol in Whiteclay, Nebraska

Native News Network Staff in Native Currents. Discussion »

PINE RIDGE INDIAN RESERVATION – On August 26th women of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, along with allies including Deep Green Resistance, will hold an event called the Women's Day of Peace in response to the peddling of alcohol in Whiteclay, Nebraska.

A tavern in Whiteclay, Nebraska. 400 yards south of the
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, 1940

“For over 100 years the women of the Oglala Lakota nation have been dealing with an attack on the mind body and spirit of their relatives ”

says Olowan Martinez, who is a main organizer of the event and resident of Pine Ridge.

“The Oglala have been silenced through chemical warfare waged by the corporations who are out to exploit and make a profit off of the suffering and misery of our people. The time has come to end this suffering by any means necessary.”

The town of Whiteclay, Nebraska lies less than 300 feet from the border of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where the sale and consumption of alcohol is prohibited.

Whiteclay has a population of 14, yet 4 liquor stores in the town sell 12,500 cans of beer each day. It has been documented that the stores sell to bootleggers, intoxicated people, minors, and trade beer for sexual favors.

The impact of alcohol distribution is felt by women and children on the reservation in particular, with rates of sexual assault and domestic violence double the national average.

Young Lakota activists and their non-indigenous allies blockaded the road leading into Whiteclay for over 4 hours on June 9th of this year to protest the sale of alcohol to Indigenous People. The action in August will be a continuation of these efforts.

The Women's Day of Peace has been organized by women on the reservation and the event will be female directed, including street theater and speeches. The match will start at 12:00 noon at Billy Mills Hall in Pine Ridge, South Dakota and proceed into Whiteclay where the other activities will take place. Join us to take a stand against the continued genocide of indigenous peoples!

posted August 23, 2012 8:20 am edt