September 30th, 2025

Today’s National Day of Remembrance for Indian Boarding School Survivors is another solemn reminder of how we acknowledge and learn from the past. The National Day of Remembrance began in Canada and is acknowledged in the States to honor the generations of Native and First Nations children forcibly removed from their homes to be sent to boarding and residential schools. Many of these institutions were government funded and many were church funded, but all were responsible for the oppression of Indigenous culture, language, and spirits. 

And still — last week — we were given another reminder that those at the federal level continue to deny the truth. This past Thursday, as reported on our Last Real Indians Native News Desk, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that soldiers who were awarded Medals of Honor for their 1890 massacre at Wounded Knee of nearly 300 Lakotas — including defenseless women and children — will keep them. Hegseth’s announcement, made on X, followed a review requested by former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in 2024. 

Read on LRI: Here’s the Wounded Knee Memorial on the Pine Ridge Reservation, located where more than 250 Lakota women, children, and men were killed by the U.S. military on December 29, 1890.

Many tribal leaders and organizations issued statements condemning the announcement, largely pointing out that the decision is not reflective of real American history — nor our shared values. People are simply asking for a correction in awarding the slaughter of women and children at Wounded Knee. This should not be a complicated issue.

Thankfully, our voices are being heard. After LRI Native News published our story on Hegseth’s announcement, Yahoo News and many others republished comments made by Lakota Law director Chase Iron Eyes. That’s important, because mainstream media often forgets to include voices from Indian Country, even on the issues that directly affect us. I see it as a simple equation: if you’re writing about a community, include that community’s voice. 

While the announcement to rescind the Wounded Knee Medals of Honor was denied by the current administration, and though Hegseth said the decision is final, that doesn’t mean this battle is over. There are still other pathways to remove the medals from history. For instance, we can and should tell Congress to pass the Remove the Stain Act. It also took far too long to end the political imprisonment of Leonard Peltier — but through tremendous, coordinated organizing and continued discussion and pressure, we got there.

Soon, we’ll publish an op-ed on LRI Native News from South Dakota Senator Red Dawn Foster detailing the steps it took to pass the resolution in the South Dakota State Senate asking Congress to investigate the Wounded Knee Massacre and next steps we can take to rescind the medals. We’ll also have much more to say later this week on the pattern of governmental overreach currently eroding our human, civil, and constitutional rights.

Indigenous residents of Turtle Island have long known these struggles. And we also know that when things look grim, you can’t give in, give up, or lose faith. So I thank you for standing with us. Let’s keep fighting together.

Miigwech — my enduring gratitude to you as a fellow member of this movement!
Darren Thompson
Director of Media Relations
Lakota People’s Law Project
Sacred Defense Fund