In 1882, President Arthur issued an executive order establishing the White Clay Extension, a buffer zone in northern Nebraska, to prevent the illegal sale of alcohol to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The zone was to remain indefinitely until such time as the original protective function was no longer necessary.
In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt signed an illegal order removing the White Clay Extension without consultation with the Oglala Sioux Tribe as required.
Today, the Nebraskan border town of Whiteclay (pop. 12) exists solely to sell alcohol to residents of Pine Ridge, where alcohol is prohibited. Its four liquor stores sell, often illegally, 4.9 million cans of beer a year contributing to the poverty, crime and alcoholism on the reservation.