Should the U.S. Rescind Medals for Native American Massacres?

What’s the story?

• A controversial tweet by President Donald Trump has a Native American Rights group renewing calls for the U.S. government to rescind medals awarded to soldiers who participated in the Wounded Knee Massacre.
• In a letter sent to the president and other federal officials, Four Directions asks for language rescinding the medals to be included in the next National Defense Authorization Act passed by Congress.

Remind me about Wounded Knee...

• In 1890, 490 U.S. soldiers – armed with four rapid-fire, wheeled artillery guns – were attempting to disarm a camp of about 370 Lakota Sioux Native Americans in Wounded Knee Creek “when a shot rang out and chaotic firing ensued,” writes the Rapid City Journal. This resulted in the death of an estimated 250 or more Native Americans, including many women and children.
• Historical records indicate that the Army awarded 20 medals of honor to participants of the massacre, from privates to musicians to lieutenants.
• Congress passed a resolution in 1990 expressing "deep regret" about the massacre, but efforts to rescind the medals have so far failed.

Why the request? Why now?

• The request by Four Directions Inc. follows a January tweet by President Trump where he made light of the 1890 massacre. The tweet was in response to a video by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

 “If Elizabeth Warren, often referred to by me as Pocahontas, did this commercial from Bighorn or Wounded Knee instead of her kitchen, with her husband dressed in full Indian garb, it would have been a smash!”

What are people saying?

• O.J. Semans, a Rosebud Sioux Tribe member who serves as co-executive director of Four Directions with his wife, writes in the letter:

“No earthly power can bring my ancestors back to life. But the United States can stop honoring the men who butchered those defenseless Lakota women and children in cold blood.”

• South Dakota lawmakers had also condemned Trump’s tweet. Sen. Mike Rounds (R) tweeted on Jan. 15 that “The Wounded Knee Massacre was one of the darkest moments in our history. It should never be used as a punchline.”
• Rounds’ Republican colleagues – including Sen. John Thune and Rep. Dusty Johnson - also criticized the Trump tweet. Johnson responded to the Four Directions letter, writing in a statement:

"Wounded Knee left behind one the darkest stains in our nation’s history. If medals were awarded to soldiers who massacred noncombatants at Wounded Knee, that was a grave mistake. We need to have a conversation about how we can rectify that."

What do you think?

Do you support rescinding medals for Wounded Knee? Or was the 1990 declaration of “deep regret” sufficient? Take action and tell your reps, then share your thoughts below.

—Josh Herman