SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. - An American Indian activist and Nebraskans
for Peace have challenged Anheuser-Busch to "distribute
responsibly," playing off the corporation's advertising slogan of
"drink responsibly."
Activist Frank LaMere and members of Nebraskans For Peace
stood across the street from the High Plains Budweiser
distributorship in Scottsbluff as part of a protest Thursday. The
group said Anheuser-Busch is not living up to its own advertising
slogan by allowing sales of beer to liquor outlets in the border
town of Whiteclay, south of the dry Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
in South Dakota.
An estimated 4.5 million cans of beer are sold annually in
Whiteclay, most of it to Indians from the reservation, where there
is a high level of alcoholism.
Jeff Scheinost, owner of the Scottsbluff distributorship, said
in a written statement that his agreement with Anheuser-Busch
requires him to sell products to the licensed dealers in Whiteclay.
He also said the group's protest is not the best way to draw
attention to the need for solutions in dealing with Whiteclay
liquor sales and the reservation's alcohol problems.
