Alcohol has destroyed many Native American lives, especially on Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. For too many years, four liquor establishments in Whiteclay, Nebraska, 2 miles from the dry reservation, sold over 4 million cans of beer yearly, to local citizens. Whiteclay had a population of about 12, while Pine Ridge area is estimated to be about 3,300.
In 2017, after pressure from many communities, Nebraska State Liquor Control Commission denied liquor licenses to all the stores, shutting down the sales of alcohol. Thus began a slow but positive rebuilding of the community with various initiatives to turn a terrible environment into one of hope and rebirth.
First Peoples Fund provided the following research: First Peoples Fund published its 2013 report, Establishing a Creative Economy: Art as an Economic Engine in Native
Communities. The report laid the foundation for the concept of creative economies and provided evidence that culture bearers like Lani, when well supported, could play
a viable role in restoring strong and resilient Native economies. The study focused on the Pine Ridge and Cheyenne River Indian reservations in South Dakota, both
struggling with the impacts of very high poverty and generational trauma. Click here to read full report.
Communities. The report laid the foundation for the concept of creative economies and provided evidence that culture bearers like Lani, when well supported, could play
a viable role in restoring strong and resilient Native economies. The study focused on the Pine Ridge and Cheyenne River Indian reservations in South Dakota, both
struggling with the impacts of very high poverty and generational trauma. Click here to read full report.