ROSEBUD, S.D. - Leaders of two South Dakota tribes are condemning the federal government’s decision to allow Medals of Honor awarded to soldiers who carried out the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre to remain in place.

In late September, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the 20 Medals of Honor given to soldiers involved in Wounded Knee would not be rescinded. The decision reignited a long-standing debate over how to characterize the event—often labeled a “battle,” though historical records show U.S. troops killed about 250 Lakota people, many of them unarmed women and children. Fighters in the camp had already surrendered.

Rosebud Sioux Tribe President Kathleen Wooden Knife called the decision a “grave injustice.”

“What happened at Wounded Knee in 1890 was not a battle; it was the slaughter of more than 250 peaceful Lakota men, women, and children,” Wooden Knife said in a statement. “To continue to decorate those responsible with our nation’s highest military honor is not only historically inaccurate, but it also dishonors every Veteran who has truly earned the Medal through valor and sacrifice.”

Oglala Sioux Tribe President Frank Star Comes Out also condemned the ruling, saying it desecrates the truth and the memory of those killed.

“Secretary Hegseth’s refusal is despicable, untruthful, and insulting to the Great Sioux Nation,” Star Comes Out said. “More than 300 unarmed Lakota men, women, and children were massacred at Wounded Knee - It was NOT a battle, it was REVENGE for America’s only loss on what they consider their home soil, The Battle of the Little Bighorn.”

Both leaders say their tribes will continue to push for the Medals of Honor to be rescinded, a call echoed by many Native nations and allies over the years.

Wooden Knife noted that even Major General Nelson Miles, who oversaw soldiers at Wounded Knee, condemned the attack as “the most abominable military blunder and a horrible massacre of women and children.” Decades later, Congress passed a resolution in 1990 expressing "deep regret" for the Wounded Knee Massacre.

“The Rosebud Sioux Tribe will continue to press for justice,” Wooden Knife said. “Healing cannot come when the government continues to honor those who took part in one of the darkest chapters in American history.”