And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: From: Pat Morris <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Protests fail to halt beer sales in village http://www.journalstar.com/stories/loc/sto6 WHITECLAY (AP) -- Beer sales remained strong at the village's four beer-only stores after a seventh week of protest marches by American Indian activists failed to close down the stores near the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. "Business is back to normal here," Stuart Kozal said Monday from the Jumping Eagle Inn, where he sells beer in the village of 22 people about two miles from the reservation in South Dakota. Protesters are concerned most of the village's $3 million in annual beer sales is sold to the Oglala Sioux who live on the reservation, where alcohol is banned. Kozal said this summer's weekly marches -- and four straight days of protests over the weekend -- have not hurt sales, except for the few days when he closed his business after initial protests led to looting and fires. "I think it's fizzling," said Kozal of the protests. He said Monday that his beer sales were strong even Sunday night, shortly after the last of more than 200 protesters left Whiteclay. The first marches attracted up to 1,500 protesters. Someone poured heavy glue into keyholes and on the door latches to Kozal's store over the weekend. It was quickly cleaned up with a key. Indian activists started their campaign against Whiteclay's beer stores in June after two Sioux men were found beaten to death near the reservation. Protest organizers say beer sales in the village contributed to the murders, which remain unsolved. Kozal said claims by protesters of improper beer sales are exaggerated, at least at his store. "I do know here we try to watch the IDs good," he said. If people appear intoxicated, Kozal said he and his employees refuse to sell them alcohol. That does not mean the situation has improved in Whiteclay. "There's no typical day in Whiteclay any more," said Tim Hotz, who owns the Jack and Jill grocery store, which does not stock beer. He said a few more Nebraska State Patrol cruisers than normal were visible Monday. Hotz said he hoped the weekend showed protesters their marches were not enough. The tribe has indicated it plans to seek a remedy through the courts. "That's what they should have done in the first place," said Hotz, who does a lot of business with the Oglala Sioux. Tribal leader Tom Poor Bear has said he planned to seek an injunction to close the beer-only stores in Whiteclay. That action, when it comes, is expected to be filed in Tribal Court on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. It may be just the first step in determining what court will have jurisdiction, according to Ramon Roubideaux, a Rapid City, S.D., attorney who has worked with the Oglala intermittently since 1973. "You have to exhaust tribal remedies before you can go to the Federal Court," said Roubideaux, who is not involved in the Whiteclay case. Tribal Judge Patrick Lee said nothing was filed as of late Monday with the court on Pine Ridge Reservation. A weekend fire early Saturday at an abandoned building in Whiteclay was labeled as "suspicious" by state fire investigators. Fire Marshal Ken Winter said evidence -- including samples of a flammable liquid -- will be analyzed at the state crime lab in Lincoln. Winter could not offer a timeline for determining the results of the investigation. No one was injured in the fire. No damage estimate was available. Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ UPDATES: CAMP JUSTICE http://shell.webbernet.net/~ishgooda/oglala/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
