Soldiers who killed men, women and children at Wounded Knee will keep their Medals of Honor

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Thursday that the soldiers who massacred as many as 300 mostly unarmed members of a band of the Lakota people at Wounded Knee Creek in 1890 would keep their Medals of Honor. Many of those killed were women and children trying to flee the onslaught of bullets from soldiers who had surrounded the camp. 

“Under my direction, we’re making it clear, without hesitation, that the soldiers who fought in the Battle of Wounded Knee in 1890 will keep their medals, and we’re making it clear that they deserve those medals,” Hegseth said in a video posted on X. “We salute their memory, we honor their service, and we will never forget what they did.” 

Native American Rights activists have repeatedly called for the medals to be revoked. 

“Stolen valor, that’s what awarding medals for slaughtering unarmed women, children and non-combatants is,” said Chase Iron Eyes, executive director of the Lakota People’s Law Project, in a statement. “We are at war with liars, racists, spineless rats unfit for righteous leadership,” Iron Eyes, who is a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, continued. 

Iron Eyes, who is a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe continued, his words capturing the anger with which Hegseth’s decision has been met among Indigenous activists.

Thirty-five years ago, Congress passed a resolution expressing deep regret for the massacre and stated that the legislative body would learn from history “in order to provide a proper foundation for building an ever more humane, enlightened, and just society for the future.”

Nationally, efforts to remove the medals of honor have received broad bipartisan support. In 2019, Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Jeff Merkley of Oregon introduced the Remove the Stain Act, which would have rescinded the medals. Former Republican Rep. Paul Cook of California introduced the same bill in the House with former Reps. Deb Haaland of New Mexico and Denny Heck of Washington, both Democrats. Haaland also served under former President Joe Biden as the first Indigenous person in a presidential Cabinet.

In 2021, the Republican-led South Dakota state Senate unanimously adopted a resolution asking Congress to investigate the Wounded Knee massacre and potentially rescind the medals.