USA: Indians seek Budweiser's help in fighting alcoholism

An Indian tribe in South Dakota is appealing to Budweiser for help keeping beer off the reservation, The Associated Press reported September 19.

Alcoholism is a rampant problem on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Sales of beer and other forms of alcohol are already banned on the reservation. But activists say four stores just outside it in Whiteclay, Nebraska, sell about four million cans of beer a year. Most of it is bought by Indians from the reservation, whose population is just 16,500 members.

In the past, leaders of the Oglala Sioux (oh-GLAL'-uh soo) tribe and a group called Nebraskans for Peace have set up roadblocks to try to confiscate alcohol. They've also picketed a beer distributor and now want a meeting with Budweiser's maker.

Officials of Anheuser-Busch won't say if there'll be one, but have issued a statement saying, "We brew our beers to be enjoyed responsibly by adults." The company says it doesn't think halting sales would solve the problem.

21 September, 2007