Johnson Re-introduces Bill to Protect Land of Wounded Knee Massacre
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) re-introduced the Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act to preserve a section of the land where hundreds of Lakota Indians were massacred by the U.S. Army. This bill passed the House with unanimous support last Congress, but was not signed into law.
“I’m grateful to the Oglala Sioux Tribe and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe for their help the last few years to draft this legislation and advance it in the House,” said Johnson. “I’m hopeful the bill passes this Congress to provides greater tribal sovereignty to this sacred land. Memorializing the Lakota lives lost will ensure this site remains sacred for generations to come.”
Specifically, the Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act places the purchased land into restricted fee status to be held by the Oglala Sioux Tribe and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. Restricted fee status allows the tribes to own the land outright, while also keeping protections in place, such as a restriction on alienation and taxation from any state or local government. In September 2022, both tribes purchased the field where an old trading post was located. On October 21, 2022, the tribes signed a covenant, stating that this property shall be held and maintained as a memorial and sacred site without any development.
This bill states that the land will continue to be owned by both tribes, subject to civil and criminal jurisdiction of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, may not be sold without the consent of Congress and both tribes, and is not subject to taxation by any state or local government. This land currently resides within the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation’s boundaries.
“This critically important bill protects and secures the grounds of Wounded Knee Memorial site, which we consider to be hallowed land where hundreds of our unarmed ancestors were chased down by the United States military and brutally murdered in the dead of winter. We thank Congressman Dusty Johnson for his steadfast support and dedication to diligently working to advance this bill and bring the truth to light in honor of the original stewards of these sacred lands,” said Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Chairman Ryman LeBeau.
“We continue to support Representative Dusty Johnson’s efforts in Congress to preserve the memory of the Wounded Knee Massacre and the legacy and sacrifice of our ancestors. This sacred site should forever serve to remind us of where we as a country have been and as a marker for how much further we have to go. This bill passed the House in the 118th Congress and we expect it to pass again; it is wholly uncontroversial and will protect our sacred Wounded Knee site in perpetuity,” said Oglala Sioux Tribe President Frank Star Comes Out.
Read full bill text here. Find the Covenant between both tribes here. Find the map here.
Wounded Knee Massacre Background:
In the late 1880s, a movement called the Ghost Dance swept across the nation. Indians believed that this dance would give stolen land back to the Indians, bringing about a renewal of Native society. Indians would join together, wearing shirts they believed would protect them from bullets, to dance for this renewal, all at the protest of the federal government.
On December 29, 1890, a group of Lakota Indians led by Chief Spotted Elk had made camp near Wounded Knee Creek on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. There, U.S. Army 7th Calvary troops were sent to disarm the Lakota. A struggle occurred between the U.S. Army and some of Chief Spotted Elk’s band – a majority of which consisted of women and children. A shot rang out, and the U.S. Army opened fire on the largely unarmed group, massacring an estimated up to 350-375 Lakota Indians. Twenty-five U.S. soldiers also died.
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