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Nebraskans for Peace, the oldest state wide Peace and Justice organization in the country, is organizing an encampment at Whiteclay, Nebraska June 5-10 to spotlight the predatory alcohol sales in this 22-person village just 200 feet from the Pine Ridge Reservation. The ten-member delegation of white Nebraskans will be the invited guests of "Camp Justice," the camp established just outside of Whiteclay by Oglala Lakota Nation Sergeant of Arms Tom Poor Bear on the site where the murdered bodies of his brother and cousin, Wilson Black Elk and Ronald Hard Heart, were found in June 1999.

Over the past six months, Oglala Tribal leaders, Camp Justice and Nebraskans for Peace have been actively waging an effort for increased law enforcement of the four alcohol dealerships in this northeast Nebraska border town that sell almost exclusively to residents of the Reservation, where alcohol is banned. The three groups have met personally with the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission, Governor Johanns and the Nebraska State Patrol to express their concerns about the lax enforcement in Whiteclay, which has also been the scene of eight unsolved deaths in just the past five years.

During the six-day encampment, the delegation will engage in a variety of activities ranging from a "Walking Tour of Whiteclay" that will link the village's current role with its ignominious origins, to a dramatization of the veritable impossibility of a Pine Ridge resident legally consuming even one of the 4.2 million cans of beer annually sold in Whiteclay. The encampment activities will culminate on Saturday, June 9 with the multi-ethnic, multi-state "March for Justice" originating from both the Pine Ridge Reservation on the north and the State of Nebraska on the south to mark the second anniversary of the still unsolved murders of Black Elk and Hard Heart.

Tuesday, June 5
9:30 a.m. A Walking Tour of Whiteclay--the reputed 'Murder Capital of the World' Features of the tour will include a brief history of the former Indian Agency town of Whiteclay, South Dakota, the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty, and the 50-mile "buffer zone" established by President Chester Arthur to thwart whiskey peddling on the Pine Ridge Reservation; information about the racial identities and occupations of the residential and commercial property owners in this 22-person village; and the presumed sites of many of the 8 unsolved deaths that have occurred over the last 5 years.

11:00 a.m. Alcohol Consumption Demonstration Project Beginning with a tape-measured drive into Whiteclay from the Pine Ridge Reservation border, Nebraskans for Peace will seek to dramatize the quandary of how a resident of the "dry" Reservation can legally consume even one of the 4.2 million cans of beer annually sold by the 4 off-sale alcohol dealers in Whiteclay to an almost exclusively Reservation clientele. On a related matter-since what goes in, must also come out-special attention will be paid to the problem of toileting oneself in this village that lacks even one public restroom facility.

12:00 noon Implementation of the Nebraskans for Peace "Neighborhood Watch" Project Throughout the 5-day encampment, members of Nebraskans for Peace will operate an ad hoc "Neighborhood Watch" to monitor alcohol sales and consumption and to keep an eye out for "nexus violations" of Nebraska Liquor Control Commission regulations, which can range from anything such as vandalism and assault to disturbing the peace.

Wednesday, June 6
9:30 a.m. Report on the First Day's Activities of Neighborhood Watch Project

10:00 a.m. Neighborhood Clean-Up In an effort to model "Good Neighbor" behavior, Nebraskans for Peace members will spend Day 2 of the encampment with rakes, brooms and trash bags conducting a "clean sweep" of the trash in Whiteclay, including empty alcohol containers. The participants will in turn construct "cairns" of the empty alcohol containers as a monument to the continued alcohol abuse caused by licensing dealerships in this village.

Thursday, June 7
9:30 a.m. Report on the Second Day's Activities of the Neighborhood Watch Project

9:45 a.m. Deployment of the 'Mobile Privy Unit' The lack of any public rest room facilities in Whiteclay has obliged many Reservation patrons to seek out improvised means to physically relieve themselves while in this village that grosses at least $3 million in annual alcohol sales. For the duration of the encampment, Nebraskans for Peace members will institute an emergency Mobile Privy Unit ('Mobile P.U.' for short), complete with a bucket and blanket to provide some element of privacy and consideration. Several "dry runs" by the Mobile P.U. will be performed for the benefit of the viewing public, who might themselves at some point have need of this essential service.

10:00 a.m. "Problems and Solutions" A Panel Forum on Alcohol-Related Issues in Whiteclay The panel forum, mediated by Nebraskans for Peace journalist Byron Peterson, will feature invited representatives from the Oglala Lakota Tribal government, Oglala Lakota Tribal Police, Camp Justice, the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission, the Nebraska State Patrol, Nebraska Health Department, the Sheridan County Attorney's Office, the Sheridan County Sheriff's Department and the merchants of Whiteclay. Questions and answers from the public will follow the panel presentation.

Friday, June 8
9:30 a.m. Report on the Third Day's Activities of the Neighborhood Watch Project

10:00 a.m. Taking of "Crime Stoppers" Tips and Free Soup and Sandwich Meal at Camp Justice Throughout the day, Nebraskans for Peace and Camp Justice volunteers will be serving a soup and sandwich meal to anyone who stops by to help organize Saturday's "March for Justice" or has a "Crime Stoppers" tip on illegal activities in Whiteclay. All information will be kept strictly confidential.

Saturday, June 9
9:30 a.m. Report of the Fourth Day's Activities of the Neighborhood Watch Project

12:00 noon "March for Justice" on Whiteclay from the Sacred Four Directions Multi-ethnic, multi-state marches from both the Pine Ridge Reservation and the Nebraska side of the border will be concurrently staged in memory of Wilson Black Elk and Ronald Hard Heart, whose murdered bodies were found in June 1999 just over the Reservation border at the present site of "Camp Justice." March contingents will converge on Whiteclay not only from Reservation on the north and Nebraska on the south, but from the east and west, symbolizing the sacred four directions. Oglala Lakota traditional spiritual leaders will offer prayers at various points along the march pathway for the contingents coming from the north, east and west.

From the Nebraska side of the border on the south, Christian ministers will lead the Nebraska marchers in prayer, calling for both an earnest investigation of the two men's still unsolved murders and the closure of the four licensed alcohol dealerships in Whiteclay. Once the four contingents join up, a rally will be held on the streets of Whiteclay with speakers from the Oglala Lakota Tribe and the national Indian community.

The march activities will culminate with the dedication of a memorial marker by Camp Justice founder and march organizer Tom Poor Bear honoring his slain brother and cousin. A banquet at the camp will follow the dedication ceremony.

Sunday, June 10
10:00 a.m. Closing Ceremony The encampment will close with a prayer ceremony led an Oglala Lakota Traditional Spiritual Leader in front of each of the four licensed alcohol outlets in Whiteclay with an supplication to the Creator, the State of Nebraska and the dealers themselves to close down these instruments of so much pain and embarrassment.

For more information contact, Tim Rinne, State Coordinator, Nebraskans for Peace. Home: 402-475-7616 ~ Work: 402-475-4620