Native Americans condemn Pentagon move to preserve Wounded Knee medals

The Battle of Wounded Knee, besides known arsenic the Wounded Knee Massacre, took spot successful South Dakota successful 1890.

The National Congress of American Indians has powerfully condemned a Pentagon reappraisal that decided against revoking medals awarded to US soldiers astatine the 1890 Battle of Wounded Knee, an lawsuit which galore historians see a massacre.

“Celebrating warfare crimes is not patriotic. This determination undermines truth-telling, reconciliation, and the healing that Indian Country and the United States inactive need,” Larry Wright Jr, the Congress’s enforcement director, said successful a connection issued connected Saturday.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 3Trump spotlight: JFK assassination files released, birthright bid blocked
• list 2 of 3US Supreme Court rejects Native American lawsuit against ample copper mine
• list 3 of 3Why Trump and Bukele are destroying Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s life

US President Donald Trump’s caput of defense, Pete Hegseth, said successful a video posted connected X precocious Thursday that a reappraisal sheet had recommended allowing the soldiers to support their medals, successful a survey completed past year, and that helium followed that recommendation.

“We’re making it wide that they merit those medals. This determination is present final, and their spot successful our nation’s past is nary longer up for debate,” Hegseth said.

The defence caput criticised his predecessor for not making the aforesaid decision, saying that the erstwhile Pentagon main was much funny successful being “politically close than historically correct”.

The Wounded Knee Massacre

The Battle of Wounded Knee, besides known arsenic the Wounded Knee Massacre, took spot connected December 29, 1890, successful South Dakota, erstwhile US soldiers killed and wounded much than 300 Lakota Sioux men, women, and children.

The events astatine Wounded Knee marked the extremity of the Indian Wars, during which Native Americans were coerced into ceding their lands and past forced onto reservations.

Lloyd Austin, who was defence caput successful the medication of US President Joe Biden, had ordered a reappraisal of the subject honours, but had not made a last determination earlier leaving bureau successful January.

In 1990, Congress passed a solution expressed “deep regret” for the conflict.

“It is due and timely for the Congress of the United States of America to admit … the historical value of the Massacre astatine Wounded Knee Creek, to explicit its heavy regret to the Sioux radical and successful peculiar to the descendants of the victims and survivors for this unspeakable tragedy,” the solution said.

Hegseth has taken purpose astatine diversity, equity and inclusion efforts astatine the Pentagon since helium took office.

The Pentagon has ended commemorations of individuality period celebrations, similar Native American History Month and Black History Month.

The Pentagon drew occurrence earlier this twelvemonth for concisely erasing online references to the Navajo Code Talkers, who developed an unbreakable codification that helped Allied forces triumph World War II.