U.S. Defense Secretary Confirms Medal Awards for 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre Soldiers

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that the Medals of Honor awarded to about 20 soldiers involved in the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre will not be rescinded, describing the event as the "Battle of Wounded Knee." The massacre resulted in the deaths of over 300 Mniconju Lakota people, including women, children, and elders, after a chaotic shooting erupted while U.S. Army soldiers tried to disarm a Lakota camp on the Pine Ridge Reservation. A special review panel convened by the Department of Defense, which concluded its report in October 2024, recommended that the medals be retained based on the standards of that time. Hegseth criticized his predecessor, Lloyd Austin, for not making a final decision on the matter, suggesting Austin prioritized political correctness over historical accuracy. The massacre has been widely condemned historically, including by military leaders at the time, but Hegseth affirmed the soldiers’ place in U.S. history and declared the decision final. The report from the review panel has not yet been publicly released, and requests for it are pending.