[lakotafreedom.com]
Republic of Lakotah
David Adams, Director of Communications: info@republicoflakotah.ws
* Food and NEW Clothing can be sent to: RELIEF AT T.R.E.A.T.Y. SCHOOL, a 501(C)(3) Tax Exempt Organization P.O. BOX 99, 444 Crazy Horse Drive, Porcupine, SD 57772
* Republic of Lakotah Emergency Propane for the Elderly: can be purchased directly from Lakotah Plains Propane via Mastercard/Visa at: 605-867-5199 . Via mail to P.O. Box 1994, Pine Ridge, SD 57770
Save Pe'Sla!!!
Update 2012-08-21 [fifthworldnews.blogspot.com/2012/08/lakotah-save-pesla.html]
Please go to Indiegogo and donate to save the heart of the Sioux land from public auction. [http://www.indiegogo.com/PeSla-LakotaHeartland]
Shut down Whiteclay Liquor Stores!
For more information about human rights abuses in Whiteclay, visit [shutdownwhiteclay.wordpress.com].
Contact: [deepgreenresistance@riseup.net]
TR McKenzie writes (July 8th, 2013):
1. Beer, liquor and wine companies have contributed $96,000 to Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman. Making the alcohol industry one of his top contributors.
2. Nebraska State Attorney General Jon Bruning has received $86,000 from the beer, wine and liquor industry since 2008.
3. Alcohol distributors and trade groups gave candidates for in-state offices $135,000 in 2010, according to the Institute on Money in State Politics
They can contribute all the money they want, we will not give in and we will not surrender. Expect Us. Every time you look over your shoulder Gov. Heineman you're going to see us.
2013-05-24 letter delivered to the Nebraska State Liquor Commission:
Jefferson, South Dakota
May 24, 2013Robert Batt, Chairman, Nebraska Liquor Control Commission, 301 Centennial Mall South
[P.O. Box 95046, Lincoln, NE 68509-5046]
Dear Commissioner Batt:
I am very concerned by what I witnessed last week in White Clay, Nebraska. It occurred outside the Arrowhead Inn, one of four stores in that tiny village licensed by the State of Nebraska to sell beer to the Oglala Lakota of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. For about three weeks now, a group of people, led by two Lakota women, have been camped on the Pine Ridge at the White Clay border. Most of those sleeping at the camp are women and children. Their purpose is to draw attention to the devastation caused to the Lakota people by the sale of alcohol in White Clay.
On Wednesday, May 15, 2013, I saw Jason Schwarting, the owner of the Arrowhead Inn, and his employee (who I believe is named “J.T.”) hand two baseball bats and a long club-like stick to one of the men who frequents the streets of White Clay, a man named Stanley Flying Hawk. Mr. Flying Hawk then gave these weapons to other men from the streets of White Clay, one of whom goes by the name “Reggi.”
Mr. Schwarting handed out these weapons after two young women from the camp walked to Arrowhead Foods grocery store to purchase sodas. I was standing just south of the “Welcome to Nebraska” sign. I heard Mr. Schwarting tell Mr. Flying Hawk and the other men with bats to “get them.” He told them to “kick their fucking asses.”
Others who saw Mr. Schwarting arm the men and heard him tell them to hurt the women ran to the grocery store to protect them. They walked back to the camp with the women to shield them from danger. The men with the bats followed the women and their protectors back to the camp. Mr. Schwarting stood at the door of his business and continued to egg on the men who were wielding the bats. I believe that Mr. Schwarting intended to scare the people in the camp and to do them actual physical harm.
I have serious concerns for the safety of the women and children at the camp based on what I have personally witnessed. Please ask the Nebraska State Patrol to investigate Mr. Schwarting's actions.
The following photograph of the men in White Clay carrying bats as they followed the women back to the camp was posted to a Facebook page called White KKKlay Happening. The man with the bat leading the group is Stanley Flying Hawk.
Sincerely, [signed] T.R. McKenzie
2013-05-24 "TR McKenzie of DGR Great Plains Arrested; Activist Arrested Prior to Press Conference Regarding Whiteclay Abuses"
from "DGR News Service" [dgrnewsservice.org/2013/05/24/press-release-tr-mckenzie-of-dgr-great-plains-arrested]:
LINCOLN, Nebraska (May 24, 2013) – Activist T.R. McKenzie was arrested this morning prior to his scheduled appearance at a press conference at the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission. McKenzie was planning to speak about the most recent in a long history of documented code violations and human rights abuses committed by alcohol sellers in Whiteclay, Nebraska.
McKenzie was held for six hours at the Lancaster County Jail on charges of theft, criminal mischief, third degree assault, and terroristic threats, none of which have been documented or substantiated. He was released on bond the same day as his arrest. This arrest comes in the wake of several weeks of protests and encampments on the outskirts of Whiteclay.
“Most of those sleeping at the protest camp are women and children,” McKenzie said shortly after his release. “We are all working to draw attention to the devastation caused to the Lakota people by the sale of alcohol in Whiteclay.”
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, and minors, as well as routinely trade beer for sexual favors. The tiny, unincorporated town lies less than 300 feet from the border of the Pine Ridge Reservation, where the sale and consumption of alcohol is prohibited.
McKenzie has participated in a variety of protests against the activities of Whiteclay’s bar owners and alcohol distributors over the last year, most recently participating in a protest camp near Whiteclay on the Pine Ridge side of the border, named the “Zero Tolerance Camp” by its supporters.
Earlier today, McKenzie was placed under arrest by two “plain-clothes” officers who followed him into a public restroom upon his arrival at the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission building in Lincoln. Opposition to the activities of Whiteclay’s bar owners has been long-standing, but over the past few weeks, protest activity has seen a distinct increase following recent allegations that a bar owner by the name of Jason Schwarting provided individuals with baseball bats and instructed them intimidate and physically attack women at the Zero Tolerance Camp. McKenzie had been scheduled to read a statement at the press conference which included his testimony about this incident.
McKenzie’s court date has been set for June 6th, 2013.
2013-05-24 "Nebraskans for Peace hold press conference at Nebraska Liquor Control Commission"
[http://www.kotanow.com/story/22417852/nebrakans-for-peace-hold-press-conference-at-lincoln]:
The Nebraskans for Peace organization holds a news conference in Lincoln regarding Whiteclay's alcohol sales.
The group met in front of the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission's office in Lincoln this morning.
T.R. McKenzie, a member of Deep Green Residence whose visited Camp Zero Tolerance at the Whiteclay border was set to deliver a letter of complaint, before being arrested by state troopers on a five county warrant issued by a Sheridan County judge.
McKenzie was taken to Lancaster County Jail before the news conference.
The letter was read by a colleague instead, regarding actions McKenzie witnessed of a Whiteclay beer store owner, which he believes were in serious violations of Nebraska law and calls for a state investigation.
Frank Lamere, a member of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska and an American Indian rights activist also addressed the media in support of Camp Zero Tolerance.
2013-05-24 "Whiteclay activist arrested while filing complaint"
by GRANT SCHULTE, Associated Press [http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Whiteclay-activist-arrested-while-filing-complaint-4546940.php]:
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — An activist who is fighting to end alcohol sales in Whiteclay was arrested Friday before he could file a complaint against a beer store owner in the tiny Nebraska town, which borders South Dakota's Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
State Patrol troopers arrested Timothy R. McKenzie Jr., of Jefferson, S.D., as members of the social justice group Deep Green Resistance were preparing to deliver a complaint letter to the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission in Lincoln.
Group members claim that the owner of the Arrowhead Inn, a Whiteclay beer store, gave baseball bats and a stick to men who frequent the town on May 15 and urged them to attack protesters who camp across the state line. The reservation bans alcohol, but critics of Whiteclay blame the town for alcohol-induced violence and health problems among members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe.
"I have serious concerns for the safety of the women and children at the camp based on what I have personally witnessed," McKenzie said in the letter.
McKenzie, 33, is wanted in Sheridan County, which includes Whiteclay, on allegations that he vandalized a beer truck three weeks ago while it was making a delivery. Authorities have charged him with making terroristic threats — a felony — and misdemeanor counts of assault, criminal mischief and shoplifting.
Vandals have struck two beer trucks in the last month. In the first incident, activists on May 3 told a beer truck driver to leave town and then flashed a knife, according to the Sheridan County Attorney's office. They started stomping on beer containers, smashed them against the truck and threw them into the street. The truck's two front tires were slashed.
The second vandalism act on May 13 caused more than $10,000 in damage to a beer truck owned by High Plains Budweiser, a distributor based in Scottsbluff, Neb. The distributing company's owner has said two of its trucks were stopped for a delivery when a vehicle drove up. Five to seven people reportedly jumped out and smashed the truck's headlights, two windows and its windshield. A tire also was cut.
Mark Vasina, a documentary filmmaker who was worked extensively in Whiteclay, said the protesters have received public support from church groups and tribe members, including tribal president Bryan Brewer. Vasina said the camp's organizers have stressed the need to keep the protests peaceful, and he added that McKenzie denies the charges.
Activists have targeted Whiteclay for well over a decade with marches, meetings with Nebraska officials and road blockades designed to stop alcohol from crossing into the reservation.
The Oglala Sioux tribal government filed an unsuccessful federal lawsuit last year that sought $500 million in legal damages from the town's four beer stores, its distributors and the global manufacturers.
Beer sales in Whiteclay have tumbled over the last two years, according to the Liquor Control Commission. The town, which has roughly a dozen residents, sold the equivalent of nearly 3.9 million, 12-ounce cans of beer in 2012 — a 10 percent drop since 2011, according to the commission's year-end report.
A man who answered the phone at the Arrowhead Inn said owner Jason Schwarting was not available to comment. A phone message left at Schwarting's home was not returned.
Hobert Rupe, the commission's executive director, said his office has passed McKenzie's complaint letter along to Nebraska State Patrol investigators. Rupe said he could not comment on the specific allegations because the case was active.
Frank LaMere, a member of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, said the situation in Whiteclay reflects a growing anger among reservation residents.
LaMere, who has campaigned against Whiteclay for years, blasted McKenzie's arrest as a form of law enforcement intimidation.
"All the State Patrol did, and all the Liquor Control Commission did today was throw grease on the fire," LaMere said. "Whiteclay is a tinderbox."
Since 2012, Women of the Oglala Lakota Nation move against cultural war waged by Nebraska state-sponsored liquor stores with an international solidarity network:
"Women’s Day of Peace: The Life Givers of the Nations say no more alcohol in White Clay"
from "Deep Green Resistance" [deepgreenresistance.org/feature-help-support-indigenous-solidarity-in-whiteclay]:
***Information on the Camping situation in Pine Ridge will come later stay tuned***
Donate Today and help make this march a success!
Lifting our Hearts, from Wounded Knees!
* August, 26th 2012 12:00 p.m. (noon) Billy Mills Hall Pine Ridge, SD
* Action against White Clay Nebraska
* “Our Stand Is Locked to the Land, Shut Down White Clay Today!”
Facts about White Clay, NE -
White Clay is an unincorporated village with a population of 14 people in northwest Nebraska. The town sits on the border of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, home to the Oglala Lakota (also known as the Oglala Sioux Tribe).
White Clay lies on disputed land, merely 200 feet from the official reservation border and less than 3 miles from the center of Pine Ridge, South Dakota, the largest town on the reservation.
Sale and possession of alcoholic beverages on the Pine Ridge is prohibited under tribal law. Except for a brief experiment with on-reservation liquor sales in the early 1970s, this prohibition has been in effect since the reservation lands were created.
White Clay has four off-sale beer stores licensed by the State of Nebraska which sell the equivalent of 4.5 million 12-ounce cans of beer annually (12,500 cans per day), mostly to the Oglalas living on Pine Ridge. These retailers routinely violate Nebraska liquor law by selling beer to minors and intoxicated persons, knowingly selling to bootleggers who resell the beer on the reservation, permitting on-premise consumption of beer in violation of restrictions placed on off-sale-only licenses, and exchanging beer for sexual favors .The vast majority of those who purchase beer in White Clay have in fact no legal place to consume it, since possession and consumption of alcoholic beverages on the Pine Ridge Reservation remain illegal under tribal law. Many people have died in the streets due to exposure, as the state of Nebraska fails to uphold state law or police White Clay. As long as the liquor stores in White Clay remains in business, the genocide of the Oglala Lakota people will continue.
Tribal activists of the Strong Heart Warrior Society have conducted annual blockades since 1999, trying to intercept alcohol and drugs being brought into the reservation. In June 2006 tribal activists protested beer sales by blockading the road from Pine Ridge to White Clay and confiscating beer bought in White Clay. These activists hoped to prevent bootlegging and illegal sales on the reservation. On June 9th of this year, young Lakota activists and their non-native allies held a blockade of the highway leading into White Clay, and gained concessions from law enforcement. This action in August will be a continuation of these efforts.
A Message to participants joining in the march:
This will be a Women’s led march, only women will be speaking during and after the march. Men are encouraged to come and will be there to show support and provide security for the women. We will also provide support work at the campsite so the women can get together and have women only circles. The men will also get together at the camp and have male ally circles. There will be more information provided at the campsite.
Donate Today to the Women’s Day of Peace Fund
To get involved contact: Olowan Martinez, Lead Organizer [605.407.1773] [truelyn8tive (@) yahoo.com], or T.R. McKenzie, Coordinator for Deep Green Resistance of the Great Plains [trmckenzie (@) riseup.net] [605.868.8111] and/or the point person in your region. If you would like to be a point person for this action in an area not already covered please contact Olowan or T.R.
Point People:
* Eastern Iowa – Nate Adeyemi: [adeyemi_dgr_gp (@) riseup.net] [815-632-7243]
* Lincoln, NE – Jeffrey Eggerss [jefferyalaneggerss (@) gmail.com] [402-601-6985]
* Wisconsin – Ben Cutbank: [contact (@) deepgreenresistancewisconsin.org] [262-208-5347]
* Omaha/Lincoln, NE – Christie Schoening: [tuffenoughtorock (@) gmail[dot]com]
* Colorado – Alex Budd: [alexbudd (@) riseup.net] [720-425-4955]; Jennifer Murnan: [jennifer (@) riseup.net] [303-823-6336]
* Western IA/Eastern SD – T.R. McKenzie: [trmckenzie (@) riseup[dot]net] [605-868-8111]
* West Coast – Xander Knox: [xander_dgr[at]riseup (@) net] [253-906-4740]
* Southwest (AZ, NM, UT) – Hershe Michele [hershe310 (@) gmail.com] [505-340-3362]
More Info: Everyone is responsible for their own food for this action, there may or may not be camping fires to use for cooking while camping on Pine Ridge, due to the chance of starting a wild fire. Everyone in the caravan is responsible for the gas in the vehicle they are driving and riding in. DRUGS AND ALCOHOL will not be tolerated at all during this entire caravan and action. You will be escorted out of camp and asked to immediately leave. Please do not test us on this rule. Thank you everyone for your commitment and love for the cause.
Camping and Caravan Info: To join in the caravan heading from the East, groups will meet again at T.R. and Joey’s place in Jefferson SD, on Thursday August 23rd after 3p.m., dinner will be provided. We will leave from Pine Ridge the next morning around 8am Friday August 24th. All groups are encouraged to meet at Wounded Knee on August 24th at 3pm. The campsite on Pine Ridge will be announced at a later date. If you are traveling from the West please get in contact with Jennifer Murnan from DGR Colorado she will have lodging for folks the night of August 23rd. August 25th will be a day of social gatherings, Women circles, Male Ally circles, and trainings for the March on the 26th.
Deep Green Resistance Indigenous Solidarity Guidelines.
1. First and foremost we must recognize that non-indigenous people are occupying stolen land in an ongoing genocide that has lasted for centuries. We must affirm our responsibility to stand with indigenous communities who want support and give everything we can to protect their land and culture from further devastation; they have been on the frontlines of biocide and genocide for centuries, and as allies, we need to step up and join them.
2. You are doing Indigenous solidarity work not out of guilt, but out of a fierce desire to confront oppressive colonial systems of power.
3. You are not helping Indigenous people, you are there to: join with, struggle with, and fight with indigenous peoples against these systems of power. You must be willing to put your body on the line.
4. Recognize your privilege as a member of settler culture.
5. You are not here to engage in any type of cultural, spiritual or religious needs you think you might have, you are here to engage in political action. Also, remember your political message is secondary to the cause at hand.
6. Never use drugs or alcohol when engaging in Indigenous solidarity work. Never.
7. Do more listening than talking, you will be surprised what you can learn.
8. Recognize that there will be Indigenous people that will not want you to participate in ceremonies. Humbly refrain from participating in ceremonies.
9. Recognize that you and your Indigenous allies may be in the minority on a cause that is worth fighting for.
10. Work with integrity and respect, be trustworthy and do what you say you are going to do.
2012-06-09 Lakotah Warriors blockade Nebraska state-sponsored liquor stores:
"Help Support Indigenous Solidarity in Whiteclay"
from "Deep Green Resistance" [deepgreenresistance.org/feature-help-support-indigenous-solidarity-in-whiteclay]:
In June, Deep Green Resistance participated in a blockade of liquor stores in Whiteclay, NE. At the end of August, we will be going back to stand with the women of the Pine Ridge Reservation in the ongoing fight against the genocide of the Oglala Lakota Nation.
Video of Whiteclay blockade on June 9th with members of Deep Green Resistance, Unoccupy Albuquerque, Occupy Lincoln, and Lakota organizers:
2012-04-30 "In Solidarity with Pine Ridge – DGR Great Plains Announces Action at White Clay, NE"
from "Deep Green Resistance" [deepgreenresistance.org/whiteclayaction]:
March for Justice 2012: Always in Memory of Wally Black Elk and Ron Hard Heart
* Date: June 9th, 2012 at 12 pm
* Location: Billy Mills Hall, Pine Ridge, SD
* A Day of Action against White Clay, NE
White Clay, Nebraska is an unincorporated village with a population of 14 people in northwest Nebraska. The town sits on the border of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, home to the Oglala Lakota (also known as the Oglala Sioux Tribe), only 200 feet from the official reservation border and less than 3 miles from the center of Pine Ridge, South Dakota, the largest town on the reservation. On June 9th, the fight against White Clay continues.
Sale and possession of alcoholic beverages on the Pine Ridge is prohibited under tribal law. Except for a brief experiment with on-reservation liquor sales in the early 1970s, this prohibition has been in effect since the reservation lands were created. White Clay has four off-sale beer stores licensed by the State of Nebraska which sell the equivalent of 4.5 million 12-ounce cans of beer annually (12,500 cans per day), mostly to the Oglalas living on Pine Ridge. These retailers routinely violate Nebraska liquor law by selling beer to minors and intoxicated persons, knowingly selling to bootleggers who resell the beer on the reservation, permitting on-premise consumption of beer in violation of restrictions placed on off-sale-only licenses, and exchanging beer for sexual favors.
Many people have died in the streets due to exposure, as the state of Nebraska fails to address the breaches of state law and countless deaths as a result of dealers in White Clay. As long as the liquor stores in White Clay remain in business, the genocide of the Oglala Lakota people will continue.
Deep Green Resistance Great Plains and other Deep Green Resistances organizers across the country are coordinating support for the Oglala Lakota activists organizing the action against the liquor peddlers in White Clay. We stand with the people of Pine Ridge and the organizers of this action against the continuation of genocide. Stand with us as we send the message: “No more liquor in White Clay!”
On June 9th 1999 two Lakota men, Wally Black Elk and Ron Hard Heart, were brutally murdered in White Clay. It is in their memory that we will march for justice. We are seeking material support, in the form of food and donations for caravans and for the action itself. Additionally, we will be collecting donated fans and air conditioners to bring to elders on Pine Ridge.
The film Battle for White Clay, a documentary about the ongoing genocide in White Clay, Nebraska
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