The unincorporated town of Whiteclay, Nebraska, was once an ugly stain on the state.
It sits just two miles from Pine Ridge Village, which is home to the Oglala Sioux Tribe on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.
Whiteclay may only boast a population of 12 people, but the town’s 4 liquor stores sold 4 million cans of beer annually. It may seem like a booming industry but it took advantage of the Tribal citizens of Pine Ridge, which is a dry reservation, by contributing to already existing social issues that plague the reservation.
In 2017, ago the Nebraska Liquor Commission did not renew any liquor licenses for these businesses, affectedly causing to them to close. The closure of these stores ended a dark chapter for the town and recently a non-profit corporation was formed to turn the town’s dark history into a powerful…
