In a tiny Nebraska border town that has become known more for alcohol than anything else, KC Willis is hoping to change perceptions.
Willis has opened LightShine Thrift Store in Whiteclay, a town of about 12 people just across from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Whiteclay has been in the news because the Oglala Sioux Tribe has sued the town's beer stores and several distributors, saying they are knowingly contributing to alcoholism on the reservation.
Willis has both a simple and complex goal in opening the store. She wants to offer a place where residents of Pine Ridge can go to buy simple everyday items such as books and clothes. She also wants people to see that Whiteclay and the Lakota people can do good things.
