Annie Comes Home: Act Now: Deliver justice for Wounded Knee

Wednesday, October 15, 2025

Act Now: Deliver justice for Wounded Knee

Pamela: In 1890, U.S. troops descended on the Lakota people at Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

What followed was not a "battle" — it was a massacre. Many were killed as they fled, gunned down long after officers had ordered soldiers to stop shooting. An estimated 250 people were slaughtered. More than half were women and children. [1]

Shamefully, 19 soldiers were awarded the nation's highest honor for valor, the Medal of Honor for their involvement in this atrocity. Last year, after years of discussion and a congressional recommendation, then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin began a formal review on whether to rescind those medals. Weeks ago, Trump's Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth upended that crucial work, and doubled down to honor the perpetrators of the massacre.

Hegseth seems to think he's got the final say, but, he's simply wrong. Congress has the power to act where the Pentagon refuses — by legislating the rescission of medals awarded to soldiers involved in the Wounded Knee massacre.

We're going to push them to do just that by passing the Remove the Stain Act introduced by Senator Elizabeth Warren (S.1915) and Representative Jill Tokuda (H.R.3609). With enough people speaking out, we can push Congress to take this decision out of Hegseth's hands and finally deliver justice.

We're rejecting the notion that mass murder can be honored as valor. Join us by telling Congress to rescind the Wounded Knee Medals of Honor.

ACT NOW

Let's be clear: honoring those who carried out the massacre at Wounded Knee is an ongoing injustice against Indigenous communities.

Indigenous leaders have been working for decades to get recognition and justice for the atrocity at Wounded Knee — including efforts to preserve the site of the massacre and to revoke the medals. "This is one of America's darkest days and the medals must be revoked," said Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Chairman Ryman LeBeau. "There is no honor in murder."[1]

In 1990, Congress formally apologized to the families of those murdered at Wounded Knee, but stopped short of revoking the medals.

Earlier this year, the Remove the Stain Act was introduced in both chambers of Congress, legislation to rescind the medals and remove the soldiers' names from the military's Medal of Honor Roll. Since Hegseth's alarming announcement, champions like Sen. Warren have vowed to keep up the fight — and public pressure is a surefire way to rally lawmakers to act against a rogue Defense Secretary.

If we stay silent, we risk normalizing Hegseth's dangerous message — that it is acceptable to call massacres, mass-killings, and other horrific acts of violence perpetrated by our government "valor." That's why we're counting on you to join us in speaking out today, Pamela.

Click here to tell Congress: Pass the Remove the Stain Act and rescind medals awarded to the perpetrators of the Wounded Knee Massacre.

The struggle for justice for Wounded Knee is about more than history, it's also about the future. It's about whether we allow our government to perpetuate lies that justify violence against Indigenous people and other communities. It's about whether we tell future generations of Native Americans that the erasure of their ancestors — their lives, their culture, their dignity — is something to be celebrated.

Today, we can refuse to accept a decision that insists that soldiers who committed mass murder "deserve" the country's highest military honor. It's up to us to keep up the pressure. That's how change happens: when people everywhere stand together and say 'not in our name.'

Thank you for working for peace,
The Win Without War team

1. Associated Press, "Hegseth's decision on Wounded Knee medals sparks outrage in Native American communities"
2. The Guardian, "Hegseth says Wounded Knee massacre soldiers will keep Medals of Honor"