“A dark cloud has been lifted over the State of Nebraska,” said John Maisch, an Oklahoma attorney whose documentary film about Whiteclay in 2014 reignited the 20-year effort to shut down the stores.

Scott Weston, the president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, said that many crimes go unsolved or unreported in Whiteclay and that ending beer sales will help the tribe address its alcohol problems and make it harder for bootleggers to obtain their product.

“This is a historic decision,” Weston said. “This is the first step in the direction of rebuilding our tribal nation.”

The vote will not immediately close down Whiteclay’s four beer-only liquor stores.

Typically, an action to close down a liquor store is put on hold awaiting the conclusion of a court appeal.

That could take a while: The last time the liquor commission sought to deny a liquor license in Whiteclay, court appeals took 20 months.

In that case, the State Supreme Court overturned the commission’s 2004 denial of a license for one of the stores, the Arrowhead Inn, saying not enough evidence had been produced to show that the store’s owner was unqualified to hold a license.