Separately, in a 1999 protest against beer sales at Whiteclay, nine Oglala Sioux led by Tom Poor Bear were arrested. They challenged their arrests by Nebraska officials, on the grounds that, according to the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty and subsequent federal law, the White Clay Extension is still under the jurisdiction of the Pine Ridge reservation, where alcohol sales are prohibited. The Oglala Sioux Tribal Court ruled in the defendants' favor. In February 2000, the Sheridan County, Nebraska court ruled that the defendants could be charged under local law, as Whiteclay and the border territory were part of the state of Nebraska.David Hendee, "Indians Lose Border Ruling," Omaha World-Herald, 12 February 2000, p. 13 A final ruling on the jurisdictional issue could only be made in federal court, as Congress has the authority to establish reservation boundaries.
