By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A total of 20 U.S. Army Soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest U.S. military decoration, for actions during the Wounded Knee Massacre. Now, the Department of Defense will be looking into whether those medals should be retained or will be rescinded.
In a memorandum dated July 19, 2024, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III wrote, “I direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to convene a Special Review Panel which, at a minimum, will consist of five experts, two of whom will be from the Department of the Interior, to conduct a review of each Medal of Honor awarded to an Army soldier for actions related to the engagement at Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota, on Dec. 29, 1890.”
The memorandum instructed the Special Review Panel to report its findings no later than Oct. 15, 2024 that includes “a retain or rescind recommendation for each Wounded Knee Creek Medal of Honor awarded”.
The Medal of Honor was established by a Joint Congressional Resolution on July 12, 1862 and is given to a member of the U.S. military who has “distinguished himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States”.
Congress issued a formal apology on Wounded Knee in Senate Concurrent Res. No. 153 which was passed on Oct. 25, 1990. It states, “Declares that the Congress, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Wounded Knee Massacre of Dec. 29, 1890, acknowledges the historical significance of this event as the last armed conflict of the Indian Wars period resulting in the tragic death and injury of approximately 350 to 375 Indian men, women, and children of Chief Big Foot’s band of Mniconjou Sioux, expresses the deep regret of the Congress on behalf of the United States to the descendants of the victims, survivors, and their respective tribal communities.”
The Remove the Stain Act, seeking the rescinding of the medals, was introduced into the 117th Congress and 118th Congress. Neither was approved. The bills were introduced by Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Congressman Kaiali’I Kahele (D-Hawaii).
When the bill was introduced into the 118th Congress, Sen. Merkley commented, “We must stop whitewashing and minimizing these horrifying chapters of our history immediately, and move forward with a commitment to remembering, reflecting on, and working to rectify them.”
In June 2001, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, based in Eagle Butte, S.D., passed Res. No. 132-01 which speaks on the Medal of Honors awarded, “The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe requests the United States government to review the history surrounding the Dec. 29, 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre and either return those medals, renounce the issuance of said medals, and/or to proclaim that the medals are null and void, given the atrocities committed upon unarmed men, women, children, and elderly of the Great Sioux Nation.”
This isn’t the first time in U.S. history that a review has occurred of Medal of Honor recipients.
According to “U.S. Army Medals, Badges, and Insignia”, by Col. Frank Foster, the U.S. Congress created an official Medal of Honor roll on April 27, 1916 and also appointed a board at the time given the task of “investigating and reporting past awards of the Medal of Honor by the War Department to see, if any, had been awarded or issued for any cause other than distinguished conduct involving actual conflict with the enemy”.
In February 1917, a total of 910 names were stricken from the list for various reasons including 864 of those from the 27th Maine Volunteer Infantry who received the medals simply for re-enlisting.
The Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act (S. 2088, H.R. 3371) is currently going through the U.S. Congress. Congressman Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) submitted the legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives and called the massacre “a dark stain on our nation’s history”.
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Dinilawigi (Tribal Council) passed Res. No. 177 (2024) on April 4, 2024 in support of the Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act.
H.R. 3371 was agreed to by a voice vote on Sept. 20, 2023. The following day, it was read in the Senate and referred to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs which approved the Act on Nov. 15, 2023.
Following a hearing on the Act, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Senate Committee on Indian Affairs chairperson, commented, “This legislation will ensure that the sacred lands of the Wounded Knee Massacre will be forever protected by the Oglala Sioux Tribe and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. Memorializing this land in no way absolves the U.S. Army of its actions in one of the deadliest massacres in our nation’s history, but it is an important step in honoring those who were lost on that dark day and promoting healing for their descendants.”
