Reps. Heck, Haaland, and Cook Introduce the ‘Remove the Stain’ Act
“I have never heard of a more brutal,
cold-blooded massacre than that at Wounded Knee.”
– Maj. Gen. Nelson Miles, 1891
I'm thrilled to let you know you did it!
Representatives Denny Heck (WA-10), Paul Cook (CA-08), and Deb Haaland (NM-01) introduced H.R. 3467, the Remove The Stain Act, on Tuesday in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The bill rescinds 20 Medals of Honor that were awarded after the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890 to members of the U.S. 7th Cavalry for acts during the massacre - this is what we've been working on, what we've been asking you to support and it happened!
Reps. Heck, Cook, and Haaland joined descendants of survivors of the Wounded Knee Massacre at a press conference on Capitol Hill to announce the bill’s introduction.
“It bothers me as a professional military person and as a historian and as a humanitarian,” said Congressman Cook, a 26-year U.S. Marine Corps veteran, “not just the massacre and slaughter and all the horrible things that happened – but the continuation of a lie that is associated with the highest award we have for valor.”
Congresswoman Haaland, one of the first Native American women to serve in Congress, said, “The introduction of this bill today shows the continued work and strength of the Native American people who have fought for more than a century for the United States to acknowledge the genocide of our people that has taken place on this soil.”
“The Medal of Honor is the highest award that can be presented to a member of the U.S. military for their service,” saidCongressman Heck. “The slaughter of innocents is not an act of valor, and we must remove the stain of the Wounded Knee Massacre from the Medal of Honor’s prized legacy. We’re 129 years late, but we still can act.”
“On our reservation in Eagle Butte, South Dakota, the Cheyenne River Reservation, there is a sadness that exists there because of unresolved grief,” said Marcella LaBeau, a 99-year-old veteran of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during World War II and recipient of the French Legion of Honor for her role in liberating France from Nazi control. “There has to be healing, and that’s why we’re here today, to ask that these Medals of Honor be revoked.”
And we’re issuing a challenge to both the House and Senate to have this bill and the companion bill past before WWII veteran Marcella LeBeau turns 100 this fall. I can see no more fitting birthday present for Marcella than seeing this grave unjustice righted.
Phyllis Hollow Horn, whose great-grandparents survived the massacre and whose great-grandmother was seven months pregnant at the time, asked Congress, “to rescind the 20 Medals of Honor given to the 7th Cavalry, and thus to begin a step toward healing an historical trauma, and also to begin the spirit of reconciliation.”
“Our relatives were shot at very close range,” said Manny Iron Hawk, whose grandmother hid in a ravine when she was twelve years old, to hide from the soldiers who were pursuing her at Wounded Knee. “They were so close that you could see the powder burn marks on the children and on the women. There was no honor in these murders, and the Lakota live with these traumas to this day. Our lives are reminders of our courage, strength, and the will to survive in the 21st century. In the healing road that we have to all take, we are all human beings, and we need to work together.”
I couldn't be more proud of our amazing supporters like you - and I want to say THANK YOU for making this happen. You are the gas in our engine. You're the way we can keep doing our work. Without your help, we cannot continue, so Barb and I say thank you with grateful hearts.
