"I am not aware of any tribe that has previously attempted this," Stroup wrote in an email. "And I am sure we would know if it had occurred."

If so, the Pine Ridge reservation would join a number of states that have begun to turn the tide on marijuana use. After having been legal for most of America's early history, states began outlawing the substance starting in 1913. The federal government followed suit in 1970 and since then thousands of people have been sent to prison for marijuana offenses.

But starting in 1996, when California legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes, attitudes about the drug began to change. Within a few years other states, including Montana and Colorado, legalized medical marijuana. Then in 2012 and in defiance of federal law, Colorado and Washington voters passed measures to legalize it.

But as with other political issues, legalization has supporters and opponents. Those opposed to legal marijuana point to studies showing that it can be addictive and hurt the development of the brain in younger people.

Those in favor, like Tribal Councilman Garfield Steele, like to point out that alcohol, which is woven deeply into the country's social fabric, is legal.