Whiteclay protests are "wildly ineffective"

Eliminating Whiteclay isn't the solutionIn Whiteclay, it’s estimated the small community's four stores sell about 4 millions cans of beer each year. Law enforcement and the community continue to deal with public intoxication and a wide variety of alcohol-related issues.

And yet the problem persists.

Earlier this week activist Frank LaMere led the protest at the Capitol. It’s familiar ground for LaMere who has protested sales at Whiteclay and urged the Nebraska legislature and law enforcement to solve the problem.

But if Nebraska laws aren’t being violated, what can be done?

Stepping up enforcement or pursuing blockades on the short stretch of road from Whiteclay to Pine Ridge might have a short-term impact but neither can be sustained for the long term.

What needs to be done is tribal leaders, as well as activists, should shift the focus from Whiteclay and look within the reservation borders to develop their solution. Prohibition doesn’t work but education, treatment and community involvement can.

The problem isn’t Whiteclay. If the city were to end sales of alcohol today, sales would simply shift to another location, another liquor store on a community bordering Pine Ridge.

While the acknowledgment of the problem on Pine Ridge and efforts to address it are admirable, focusing on a small community on the Nebraska border has been, and will continue to be, wildly ineffective.Comment:  One could argue for the Whiteclay protests as a way of focusing attention on the problem. But I wouldn't argue for shutting down Whiteclay as the best or final solution to the problem.

For more on the subject, see my previous Whiteclay postings:

Nebraska's "dirty little secret"
The Battle for Whiteclay
Whiteclay isn't the problem?
Indians vs. Anheuser-Busch