A shopper in North Dakota was left shocked and embarrassed after a local liquor store refused to accept his valid Tribal ID for buying alcohol. The store said they were following a specific state law. Aaron Presley Vallejo-Star is a member of the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation.
According to The Sun, he was shopping with his partner at Happy Harry’s Bottle Shops just before Thanksgiving when this happened. Vallejo-Star showed his Tribal ID to the cashier, who refused the purchase and asked for his birth certificate instead.
He went to social media to call out the store’s policies. He said it’s disgraceful that businesses still question whether Tribal IDs are legitimate. Vallejo-Star explained that when staff don’t recognize these IDs, it sends a message that Native people have to “prove we’re real, like our identity isn’t enough.” He added, “And I refuse to accept that for myself or for any Native person.” He promised to keep fighting for Native rights after this experience.
The store says it’s following state law exactly
The CEO of Happy Harry’s Bottle Shops, Dustin Mitzel, defended his employees. He said the staff were only following state law. Mitzel explained their policy is based entirely on state rules, and they follow it exactly to avoid making judgment calls.
Mitzel confirmed that North Dakota state law does not allow the store to accept a Tribal ID for alcohol purchases. Happy Harry’s also said online that their staff follows rules set by Fargo and the state of North Dakota. This incident adds to ongoing concerns about tribal safety in the region.
This comes down to confusing legal language. North Dakota law says valid ID for buying alcohol must be issued by the state, another state, or a Canadian province. It also requires a photo and date of birth. Passports, driver’s licenses, and military IDs are all accepted.
The issue is that Vallejo-Star’s Tribal ID does have both a picture and his date of birth. The problem is the state law doesn’t clearly say whether “state-issued” includes a Tribal ID. The word “state” isn’t defined in that section of the law. North Dakota has seen various controversial incidents recently that have sparked public debate.
Dan Lewerenz, an assistant professor at UND’s School of Law and a former Native American Rights Fund attorney, explained the problem. He said when a term isn’t defined in the law, you use its common meaning. The usual meaning of “state” is typically something different from an Indian tribe. Other states like Oregon already accept Tribal IDs as official identification. North Dakota needs to update its rules to recognize these valid government documents.
