WhiteClay reenvisioned
One of the town’s former liquor stores, the Arrowhead Inn, now serves as the home of Whiteclay Makerspace, a 3,650 square-foot communal and retail space where artists work at stations in the back, while their art is sold in the front. All the supplies and equipment, from quilting machines to Dremel tools, are provided by the nonprofit, and artists are charged $1 a month to rent workspaces. Nebraska resident, attorney, educator and businessman John Ruybalid (Tewa) started the nonprofit with the guidance and input of Pine Ridge artists, and with grants from the Rapid City Rushmore Rotary and U.S. Department of Agriculture.
WONDERFUL NEWS: Remolding Whiteclay: A Once Bleak Bordertown Becomes an Oasis for Oglala Sioux Artists | Arts & Entertainment
NEW STORE: https://whiteclayredo.com/
I have been to Whiteclay Nebraska many times, too many times to recall.
I wrote a story in 2007: Alcohol abuse is not uncommon, even though the rez is dry, meaning no
alcohol is sold in Pine Ridge. Abuse is still rampant. A short walk, a
mile and a half to Nebraska, four liquor stores sell these Pine Ridge
residents a million cans of beer a year. On August 4, tribal police
checked cars for alcohol leaving White Clay, Nebraska, headed back to
Pine Ridge. Checking my rental car, the officer found three freshly
decorated cakes I had just picked up for the memorial, along with
groceries from Gordon, Nebraska.
Read about my trip here:
Comments