( CNN ) -- An Indian reservation in South Dakota voted to repeal a decades-old ban on alcohol , according to preliminary results announced by the Oglala Sioux Tribe Wednesday . The unofficial tally from Tuesday 's vote at Pine Ridge Indian Reservation shows that 1,645 members voted in favor of lifting the ban , 1,494 voted against and 438 votes were challenged . `` Challenge votes are being counted and will be released as soon as they are received from the election committee , '' the Oglala Lakota Nation website said . Pine Ridge is the last dry reservation in the state . The debate about allowing alcohol on the reservation divided the community . The ban , in effect for decades , prohibits the possession and consumption of alcohol on the reservation . But the ban was n't working , Lawrence Eagle Bull , one of nine Oglala tribal council members who agreed to put the issue to a vote , said before the balloting . Eagle Bull compared the situation to the United States ' Prohibition era . `` It did n't work then , '' he said . `` It created a criminal element . '' Others were firm in their commitment to keep the land dry , saying legalizing alcohol would solve nothing . `` Alcohol is behind every social problem we have , '' said activist and tribe member Olowan Martinez . `` It 's our biggest enemy -- legalizing it wo n't solve the problem . '' She cites problems such as domestic abuse , assault , rape and unemployment . She added that drinking is killing the population : `` It 's liquid genocide . '' What both sides agree on is that alcohol abuse is common on the reservation and beer is easy to get . The neighboring border town of Whiteclay , Nebraska , is home to fewer than 15 residents but supports four beer stores that manage to sell 11,000 cans of beer a day to their predominately Native American customer base . The reservation has a tribal membership of more than 35,000 people , according to the Oglala Lakota Nation website . Many of those who purchase beer in Whiteclay drink it there and return to the reservation drunk . Other times the beer is smuggled into the reservation . If the vote holds up and the ban is lifted , the tribe would be able to establish its own beer stores on the reservation . Eagle Bull says each district would house one store -- operated by the tribe -- with profits going toward alcohol rehabilitation facilities . In the long term , Eagle Bull said , stores on the reservation could eventually shut down the Whiteclay operations .
The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota seeks to lift an alcohol ban . The century - old law stirs debate among members of the Oglala Sioux tribe . If the ban is lifted , businesses can open on the reservation , taking business from a nearby town .