Sponsors (8)
The bill formally acknowledges and rescinds honors tied to the Wounded Knee massacre—advancing recognition and accountability for Native communities and preserving veterans' benefits—while creating reputational, political, and administrative consequences for descendants, servicemembers, and federal systems.
Indigenous Lakota and tribal communities will receive formal congressional acknowledgment and the official removal of honors tied to the 1890 Wounded Knee massacre, providing public recognition of historical injustice and moral accountability.
Veterans who would lose official honors under the bill will retain their existing federal benefits, preserving access to pensions, healthcare, and other entitlements.
Veterans and recipients will be allowed to keep their physical medals, avoiding immediate legal or logistical disputes over medal possession.
Descendants and some servicemembers associated with the 7th Cavalry will face reputational harm and emotional distress from public scrutiny and the rescission of honors.
Some Americans may view congressional findings and the removal of historic honors as revisionist or divisive, risking political controversy and public backlash.
Removing names from official rolls and rescinding honors will create administrative complexity for military records and honor registries, imposing additional work for federal personnel.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Revokes the 20 Medals of Honor awarded for Wounded Knee (Dec. 29, 1890) and requires removal of recipients’ names from the official Medal of Honor Roll, without requiring return of physical medals or cutting benefits.
Introduced May 22, 2025 by Elizabeth Warren · Last progress May 22, 2025
Rescinds every Medal of Honor that was awarded for the December 29, 1890 engagement at Wounded Knee and directs the appropriate Secretary to remove those recipients’ names from the official Medal of Honor Roll. The measure states recipients do not have to return physical medals and that the action does not change any federal benefits for those individuals. Congressional findings in the bill describe the Medal of Honor as the nation’s highest military award, provide counts of Medals awarded for various conflicts, characterize the Wounded Knee engagement as a massacre that caused large numbers of Lakota civilian casualties (including many unarmed women and children), and note calls from tribal and Native organizations to revoke the 20 Medals awarded for that action.