On December 29, 1890, the United States Army engaged in a massacre of dozens of unarmed Dakota people — most of them women and children — at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, which had become a state only months beforehand. I won’t go into the details of the massacre itself, suffice to say that the word “massacre” definitely applies.
In the aftermath of that appalling event, which took place against the backdrop of decades of brutality against Indigenous peoples, twenty medals of honor were awarded to members of the 7th Calvary for their actions.
Sponsored by U.S. Rep. Denny Heck (D-WA-10), The Remove The Stain Act, would rescind those medals of honor in an attempt make a measure of amends for the brutal acts committed that day. Noted Rep. Heck:
“The Medal of Honor is the highest award that can be presented to a member of the U.S. military for their service,” Rep. Heck said in a press release. “The slaughter of innocents is not an act of valor, and we must remove the stain of the Wounded Knee Massacre from the Medal of Honor’s prized legacy. We’re 129 years late, but we still can act.”
The Dakotas and Minnesota have large numbers of Dakota people in their populations, so it made sense that the Fargo Forum decided to ask the U.S. Reps from those three states where they stood on Rep. Heck’s bill. The answers varied from no answer at all to one Minnesota member of Congress, Rep Betty McCollum (MN-04), being one of the co-sponsors of the bill:
In an emailed statement, [Rep. McCollum] said the Wounded Knee Massacre is “indeed a stain on our American history,” and the act is “an important step in the healing and reconciliation process for Indian Country and for our nation as a whole.”
It is worth noting that in 1990, Congress passed a resolution expressing “deep regret” for the massacre. At the same time, the site has not been designated a national monument by the U. S. Park Service.
Rep. Deb Haaland (D-NM), one of two Native Americans serving in Congress, stated about the proposed act:
"It’s also about making people aware of this country’s history of genocide of American Indians," she said in a statement, adding that she's been educating her colleagues about the massacre as it's a tragedy that's been "left out of history books.” The bill, she said, "has the potential to provide profound healing."
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Please note this diary is not intended to be a comprehensive review of Wounded Knee, only an attempt to highlight an effort to perhaps make a measure of amends for the treatment of Indigenous people at the hands of the U.S. government.