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119th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 3609

To rescind each Medal of Honor awarded for acts at Wounded Knee Creek

on December 29, 1890, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

May 23, 2025

Ms. Tokuda (for herself, Mr. Huffman, Ms. McCollum, Mr. Khanna, Ms.

Davids of Kansas, Mr. Quigley, and Ms. Stansbury) introduced the

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services

A BILL

To rescind each Medal of Honor awarded for acts at Wounded Knee Creek

on December 29, 1890, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the

United States of America in Congress assembled,...

H.R. 3609 | Congressional Chronicle | C-SPAN.org

Actions

May 23, 2025Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
May 23, 2025Introduced in House

Cosponsors

Austin Orders Review of Wounded Knee Medals

July 24, 2024 | By Joseph Clark, DOD News |

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III has directed the Defense Department to review the Medals of Honor awarded to approximately 20 soldiers for their actions during the December 1890 engagement at Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota, to ensure no awardees were recognized for conduct inconsistent with the nation's highest military honor.

DOD's Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness will convene a special review panel to conduct an individualized assessment based on standards in effect during that period.

The scope of the panel's review is limited to examining each Medal of Honor awardee' s individual actions during the engagement at Wounded Knee Creek. However, "The [special review panel] may consider the context of the overall engagement as appropriate, including as necessary to understand each [Wounded Knee Creek Medal of Honor] recipient's individual actions," Austin wrote in a memorandum directing the review, which was released today.

Austin signed the memorandum last week following department consultation with the White House and Department of the Interior.

"It's never too late to do what's right," a senior defense official said in an interview this week. "And that's what is intended by the review that the secretary directed, which is to ensure that we go back and review each of these medals in a rigorous and individualized manner to understand the actions of the individual in the context of the overall engagement."

The official noted that the review is warranted based on a range of factors, including a congressional recommendation to review the awards included in the fiscal year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act.

The panel will provide Austin with a recommendation to either retain or rescind each Medal of Honor awarded for actions related to the Wounded Knee engagement, which resulted in the death and injury of approximately 350 to 375 Native American men, women and children, according to a 1990 Senate resolution.

That resolution, which marked the 100th anniversary of Wounded Knee, referred to the engagement as a massacre and expressed "deep regret on behalf of the United States to the descendants of the victims and survivors and their respective tribal communities."

The panel will include at least five experts, including two from the Department of the Interior. It will provide a written report of findings and recommendations by mid-October. Austin will then provide his recommendations to the president.

The secretary of the Army will provide historical records for the review no later than July 26. The Army will include everything associated with the award recommendations for each soldier, the personnel file for each awardee, copies of any Army reports into the actions at Wounded Knee Creek and any other known historical documents salient to the engagement.

The secretary of the Army will provide support to the panel throughout the review, including document retrieval and answering requests for information about the events at Wounded Knee Creek.

Defense officials noted that the department regularly reviews awards for upgrades. The Executive Branch has also conducted reviews to determine whether previous awards should be rescinded, including one in 1916 that led to 911 Medals of Honor being revoked.

The officials noted that the standards for awarding the Medal of Honor have evolved over time, and the review would be held in accordance with the standards in place at the time, as well as the context surrounding the actions at Wounded Knee.

The panel will also consider other relevant laws and regulations, such as those relating to fundamental protections for noncombatants.

"This is not a retrospective review," one official said. "We're applying the standards at the time. And that's critical because we want to make sure that as these are reviewed and as a recommendation is made to the secretary and then to the president that we have applied the standards appropriately, while ensuring that we look at the context."

External stakeholders interested in submitting historical documents for consideration by the panel have until September 15th to submit. All submissions should be sent via e-mail to: osd.pentagon.ousd-p-r.mbx.wounded-knee-moh-review@mail.mil.

WOUNDED-KNEE-MOH-REVIEW-SD-MEMO-SIGNED list

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calvary-soldiers-who-massacred-hundreds-at-wounded-knee-get-to-keep-their-medals-of-honor

by levi Rickert September 26, 2025

Department of War Pete Hegseth used social media on Thursday night to announce that U.S. 7th Cavalry soldiers who massacred hundreds of innocent Lakota during the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre will retain their Medals of Honor. The Medal of Honor, which is the highest award of valor presented to military service members, was given to 20 soldiers.

These medals were given despite the fact that the incident involved the killing of at least 250–300 Lakota people, the majority of whom were women, children, and elders.

“Under my direction, we’re making it clear, without hesitation, that the soldiers who fought in the Battle of Wounded Knee in 1890 will keep their medals, and we’re making it clear that they deserve those medals,” Hegseth said in a video posted on the social platform X.

In July 2024, then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had established a five-member panel to reassess the commendations awarded to troops for their actions at Wounded Knee.

The Biden administration stated that the panel would evaluate each medal recipient’s service and records individually to ensure that “no soldier was recognized for conduct that did not merit recognition under the standards applicable at the time.”

Hegseth did not release the findings of the panel during Thursday’s social media announcement.

“We are not surprised, but disheartened that Secretary Hegseth has decided to follow former Defense Secretary Austin’s footsteps and follow recommendations by what I believe to be a panel that was established to ensure a specific outcome,” O.J. Semans, Sr. (Rosebud Sioux), co-founder and co-executive director of Four Directions, Inc., told Native News Online on Thursday evening.

The violence began when the U.S. Cavalry attempted to confiscate weapons from those taken into custody; a shot was fired, prompting troops to open fire and kill at least 250 Lakota men, women, and children. Around 25 U.S. soldiers also died, likely as a result of friendly fire.

For several years, Native organizations have urged Congress to pass the Remove the Stain Act that would rescind the Medal of Honor to those awarded for their violent deeds at Wounded Knee.

In May 20205,*Remove the Stain Act of 2025* was reintroducedby Senators Elizabeth Warren (D–MA) and Jeff Merkley (D–OR), along with Representative Jill Tokuda (D–HI),

"We cannot be a country that celebrates and rewards horrifying acts of violence against Native people," Sen. Warren said when the legislation was reintroduced. "Congress must recognize how shameful this massacre was and take an important step toward justice for the Lakota people."

“We must acknowledge our history and take concrete steps to right historic wrongs from America’s darkest chapters,” said Sen. Merkley. "Moving forward together as a nation demands we remember, reflect on, and work to rectify the abhorrent massacre of hundreds of innocent Lakota men, women, and children at Wounded Knee. This horrific injustice is not deserving of our nation’s highest award for military valor, and our long-overdue bill helps finally set the record straight by revoking these medals.”

Semans still hopes Congress will pass the legislation.

“We will continue to work with Congress to ensure Americans know the truth,” Semans said.

Earlier in the year, Hegseth also directed the restoration and refurbishment of a Confederate memorial at Arlington National Cemetery that had previously been removed.

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