VERMILLION, SD- Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation wants to change the narrative of the small unincorporated border town of Whiteclay, Nebraska.

The liquor stores in town sold 4 million cans of beer annually, mostly taking advantage of the tribal citizens just 2 miles to the north. In 2017, the Nebraska Liquor Commission declined to renew the stores’ liquor licenses.

It took years of work by a variety of people to make that happen. Whiteclay’s booming alcohol industry, which took advantage of existing social issues faced by the people of Pine Ridge, was effectively shut down. Thunder Valley hopes the healing can now begin, South Dakota Public Broadcasting reported.

Thunder Valley CDC started on the Pine Ridge Reservation as a way to connect youth with the Lakota way of life. It continues its efforts to enhance the Oglala Lakota Oyate by offering a variety of initiatives such as food sovereignty, Lakota language education, housing and homeownership, regenerative community development, and more. The corporation recently acquired 48 acres of land in Whiteclay with the intent of building a holistic healing community.

Former Oglala Sioux Tribe attorney general and current Thunder Valley Executive Director Tatewin Means wants to write a new chapter focusing on healing and changing the narrative around Whiteclay and the connection it had to her people.

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