And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
Whiteclay grocers plan to reopen store
BY JOE DUGGAN and FRED KNAPP Lincoln Journal Star
http://www.journalstar.com/stories/neb/sto2
Despite television reports stating otherwise, owners of a Whiteclay grocery
store looted during a June 27 march said they plan to rebuild and reopen.
On the eve of Gov. Mike Johanns' Whiteclay tour and meeting with Oglala
Sioux tribal leaders on the Pine Ridge Reservation, Vic and Deanna Clarke
Monday started cleaning the market that was vandalized and burned about two
weeks ago.
Reports they would walk away from VJ's Market -- a business generating
millions of dollars during their six-year ownership -- were false.
For days, they weren't sure what to do, but Deanna Clarke said a sense of
community obligation and an outpouring of customer support -- mostly from
the nearby reservation -- helped them decide to reopen.
"The majority of people on the reservation do not believe in what took
place," she said. "The violence is not going to solve anything." At 2 p.m.
MST today, Johanns will visit the unincorporated town of 22 that has been
the flash point of three protests by Oglala Sioux and American Indian
Movement members.
March leaders have said the town epitomizes racist attitudes where Indians
are assaulted, attacked and even murdered. They said the village's four
beer stores exploit residents of a reservation where alcohol sales are
banned. Additionally, they argued that Whiteclay belongs to the tribe,
citing 19th century treaties.
In a telephone conference call with reporters Monday, Johanns said his
first visit to Whiteclay will be in response to an invitation from Oglala
Sioux Tribe President Harold Salway, whom he met with in Chadron July 2.
"The purpose of our meeting tomorrow is to continue the dialogue," Johanns
said. "With the lines of communication open, we can work toward solutions
to the issues that have been raised surrounding Whiteclay." It is unclear
how long the governor will stay in Whiteclay. After the visit, he will
spend about two hours on the reservation, where tribal leaders will set the
agenda, Johanns spokesman Chris Peterson said.
Expected to join Johanns are U.S. Attorney Tom Monaghan of Omaha, Pascual
Marquez, conciliation specialist with the U.S. Department of Justice in
Kansas City, and Tom Cook of Chadron, a member of the Nebraska Commission
on Indian Affairs.
Although the Oglala Sioux Tribe has a long history with the little border
town, the marches were sparked by the recent murders of Pine Ridge
residents Wilson Black Elk Jr., 40, and Ronald Hard Heart, 39. The men were
found June 8 in a South Dakota roadside ditch just north of Whiteclay.
Angry over what they consider an inadequate response by law enforcement, an
estimated 1,500 people gathered in Pine Ridge June 27 and marched two miles
south to Whiteclay. At the end of the march, a relatively small number of
people looted the store and engaged in a violent standoff with police.
The following weekend marchers retraced the route and nine American Indians
were arrested and cited when they broke through a line of about 100 police
wearing riot gear.
On Saturday about 80 people marched and posted signs in Whiteclay giving
the beer stores and VJ's Market 30 days to vacate. When asked about such
demands, Johanns said businesses that operate legally have a right to stay
open.
Some people have said VJ's Market was targeted because Vic Clarke is a racist.
"People have latched onto rumors and just went with it, but it's not true,"
Deanna Clarke said of her husband.
"It's been suggested that Vic is with the KKK or a white supremacist, which
is totally false," she said. "Our family is not about hate." Although they
have insurance, Deanna Clarke said an adjuster has not yet written an
estimate of the store loss. Rebuilding custom doors, coolers, freezer
compressors and burned floors and fixtures will take time, but they hope to
reopen by early September.
Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html
doctrine of international copyright law.
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Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit)
Unenh onhwa' Awayaton
http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/
UPDATES: CAMP JUSTICE
http://shell.webbernet.net/~ishgooda/oglala/
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