Tribal leaders are responding to the recent announcement that Medals of Honor will not be revoked for the Wounded Knee battle.
There is controversy over that battle, as some assert it should more accurately be called the Wounded Knee Massacre of Native people on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.
The U.S. military entered the reservation and killed 250 to 300 Lakota people, mostly civilians.
Frank Star Comes Out, President of the Oglala Lakota Tribe, writes in a statement, “Secretary Hegseth’s refusal is despicable, untruthful, and insulting to the Great Sioux Nation.”
He added the Oglala Sioux Tribe will never stop demanding that these medals be rescinded, history be told accurately, and that the descendants of Wounded Knee and all tribal nations be treated with respect and dignity.
Additionally, the National Congress of American Indians stated Hegseth’s decision hinders truth-telling, reconciliation, and the healing that Tribal Nations and the U.S. still need.
NCAI requests that the Department of Defense release the report used to make this decision, reverse course, and immediately meet with NCAI and the leaders of the Great Plains Tribal Chairman’s Association.