Whiteclay's history has always been tied to that of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, which is on the South Dakota side of the border. When the boundaries of the Pine Ridge reservation were originally established, a 4-square mile tract of land in Nebraska was included within the reservation, which included the Whiteclay community. In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt signed an executive order that removed the Nebraska land from the reservation; the legality of this order has been disputed. Ever since, Whiteclay has been notable primarily for the vast quantities of alcohol sold to residents of the legally Dry countydry Pine Ridge reservation. The status of Whiteclay's beer stores became a volatile political issue in the late 1990s, as a pair of unsolved murders in 1999 led to a series of marches and rallies led by various activist groups (including the American Indian MovementAmerican Indian Movement (AIM) and Nebraskans for Peace) demanding that the state of Nebraska revoke the area's liquor licenses and increase law enforcement in the area. The nearby tribal law enforcement (in Pine Ridge, South Dakota) had no legal authority in Whiteclay, and the nearest Nebraska-based law enforcement is in Rushville, NebraskaRushville, which is 22 miles to the south. On August 30, 2005, the state of Nebraska and the Pine Ridge reservation signed an agreement allowing tribal officers to enforce Nebraska laws in Whiteclay. http://www.gov.state.ne.us/news/2005_08/31_deputization.html Whiteclay's liquor stores remain open, ensuring that it will continue to be a major political issue for the foreseeable future. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiteclay%2C_Nebraska