Last dry SD reservation voting on alcohol sales

Last dry SD reservation voting on alcohol sales

PINE RIDGE, S.D. (AP) - Jobs and confidence are in short supply on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where the rugged beauty of South Dakota’s Badlands contrasts sharply with dilapidated houses, rusted-out vehicles on blocks and trash in the streets - symbols of a helplessness fueled largely by an influx of bootlegged alcohol. Members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe are voting all day today on whether to give up the fight against bootlegging by allowing alcohol to be sold on the reservation - the last place in the state’s American Indian territory where it’s not allowed. Profits would be used for education, detoxification and treatment centers, for which there is currently little to no funding.