By: Selah Jacoway
FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – A couple says Happy Harry’s Bottle Shop refused their liquor purchase after they tried to verify their age with a tribal ID, raising questions about whether North Dakota’s liquor laws recognize tribal identification.
The day before Thanksgiving, Aaron Presley Vallejo-Starr, a member of the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, presented his tribal ID to a cashier at Happy Harry’s. The cashier refused the sale and asked for a birth certificate instead.
“When I presented my tribal ID to the cashier, he looked at it and immediately refuses it, and asked me for a birth certificate,” Vallejo-Starr said.
The couple posted about the incident on Facebook, saying they felt discriminated against and humiliated.
Store Cites State Law
Dustin Mitzel, CEO of Happy Harry’s Bottle Shops, said the store was following state law.
“Our policy is the state law and that’s been that way forever. That way there is no judgment calls. It’s literally whatever the state statute says is what we accept and currently the state statute does not permit us to accept a tribal ID,” Mitzel said.
According to North Dakota’s Century Code Title 5, a licensed retailer can verify age using a valid state or Canadian ID with a photo and birthdate, a U.S. military ID, or a U.S. passport.
Vallejo-Starr’s tribal ID included a photo and birthdate, but the question is whether a tribal ID qualifies as one provided by the state. The term “state” is not defined in Title 5 alcoholic beverages.
