The U.S. Senate has passed the Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site protection bill, moving it closer to becoming law.
The bill protects 40 acres of land on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, the site where the U.S. Army massacred hundreds of Lakota people in 1890.
It allows the Oglala Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes to keep ownership of the land. In 2022, the tribes jointly purchased the property and signed an agreement stating they will preserve the land as a memorial and sacred site.
The act protects the land from taxation and prevents its sale.
The bill was first introduced in 2023 and passed through the House in January.
SPM – Why Support – Katie Colling
