Warren Introducing Bill to Revoke Medal of Honor from Soldiers at Wounded Knee Massacre

Thursday, November 28, 2019

GoLocalWorcester News Team

The Wounded Knee Massacre

United States Senator and 2020 presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is set to introduce legislation that would take back the Medal of Honor from soldiers who participated in the Wounded Knee massacre of 1890.

Warren was joined by Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley in announcing the Senate companion to the Remove the Stain Act.

"The horrifying acts of violence against hundreds of Lakota men, women, and children at Wounded Knee should be condemned, not celebrated with Medals of Honor. The Remove the Stain Act acknowledges a profoundly shameful event in U.S. history, and that's why I'm joining my House colleagues in this effort to advance justice and take a step toward righting wrongs against Native peoples,” said Warren.

Read the Bill Here

The National Congress of American Indians and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe have both passed resolutions calling for the revocation of the medals.

Remove the Stain Act

The bill would revoke the Medal of Honor from the soldiers who perpetrated the Wounded Knee massacre on December 29, 1890, when U.S. soldiers slaughtered hundreds of Lakota men, women, and children on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

Twenty soldiers in the regiment received the Medal of Honor--the highest military decoration--for their actions at Wounded Knee.

"History must reflect that Wounded Knee was a massacre of hundreds of defenseless Native men, women, and children at the hands of U.S. soldiers. We will never be able to remove the pain and trauma caused by these acts of violence, but we can continue to fight for justice. Revoking these Medals of Honor is one step forward and I am proud to join my colleagues to address our country's wrongs,” said Senator Kamala Harris.

Senators Harris, Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) are original cosponsors of the bill.

PHOTO: U.S. Library of Congress