menu Home chevron_right
NATIVE NEWS

Tribal Leaders Push Back Pete Hegseth Decision on Wounded Knee Medals

Indian Country Today | February 12, 2026



U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said that soldiers who fought at Wounded Knee in 1890 will keep their medals — a decision that has drawn sharp criticism from Native leaders. Tribal leaders and community advocates call it a misrepresentation of history, emphasizing that the event was a massacre, not a battle, where hundreds of unarmed Lakota were killed.

✍️ Reported by Shirley Sneve

🖥️ FOR MORE NEWS: https://ictnews.org/

📰 SUPPORT INDIGENOUS JOURNALISM: https://ictnews.fundjournalism.org/donate/

✨ FOLLOW US:
Bluesky – https://bsky.app/profile/ict-news.bsky.social
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/IndianCountryToday/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/indiancountrytoday
Tiktok – https://www.tiktok.com/@indiancountrytoday

#ictnews #nativeamerican #americanhistory #nativeamericanculture

Written by Indian Country Today

Comments

This post currently has 36 comments.

  1. @IndianCountryToday

    February 12, 2026 at 8:48 pm

    🌻Thank you everyone for watching our news report! You can help us increase our coverage on Indigenous news by subscribing to our page and sharing our reports! Please remember to follow our community guidelines and keep your comments kind and respectful to others who may have experienced trauma.

  2. @Tojodogboy

    February 12, 2026 at 8:48 pm

    A soldier who massacred sick women and children at Wounded Knee isn’t worthy of a medal. It’s great to correct such stupid, hateful destructive decisions made by racist hateful people. I’m all for it.

  3. @JohnNegonscott

    February 12, 2026 at 8:48 pm

    do some research and honor the men that were disobeying orders and turning on the main body…………….compare this to malai VI Vietnam on man and his helicopter crew seen and responded the same way the veitnamese people knew what happened and so did america their was a posative spirit present acting through them where theres darkness theres light..from what ive heard there were some human beings at wounded knee if they gave an inch they took a mileif they want to honor them heros then honor our helpers

  4. @ronp854

    February 12, 2026 at 8:48 pm

    The same people that call the events of 1921 the "Tulsa Race Riots" and not the Tusla Massacre. This happens over and over and people will never learn if history is whitewashed. History is a lesson for the future both the good and the bad.

  5. @robertcua2337

    February 12, 2026 at 8:48 pm

    Let them keep their medals. What belongs to the Whiteman belongs to the Whiteman. The aboriginal tribes keep their lands, they belong to the land and the land belongs to them.

  6. @CDA129

    February 12, 2026 at 8:48 pm

    This DEVIL holds up "paper" to prove those murderers deserved a medal for massacring 300 unarmed civilians. What a brave man that DEVIL is…

  7. @dianabenobo

    February 12, 2026 at 8:48 pm

    The current administration does not only insist upon the utility of the incorrect in political behaviors. They also seem to aspire to finding success in anthropological futility. Their strategy seems to avoid philosophy, abandon morality, and despise virtue.

  8. @WayfaringDay

    February 12, 2026 at 8:48 pm

    This is an outrage. The massacre at Wounded Knee lies heavy on my heart because I was born on December 29th, which reminds me of that horrific event. There was nothing heroic about it. And let's not forget that, the author of that ever so popular book 'The Wizard of Oz' publicly advocated for the annihilation of native peoples. It sickens me to hear that they want to honor these soldiers who committed such a cowardly act.

  9. @warbearc6739

    February 12, 2026 at 8:48 pm

    There are allot of natives in this country if they would unify and stand up and tell the real history of how the whites committed genocide to take the land away from the indigenous people to divide it up and trash it. Then the real histories would be known about a country that condemns other countries for doing the same thing hmmm how ironic.

  10. @warbearc6739

    February 12, 2026 at 8:48 pm

    Hegseth is trash, I’m a Native American and to see this trash attacking natives just as the white soldiers did to the old and children but they are hero’s….hahaha😂

  11. @otpo1

    February 12, 2026 at 8:48 pm

    From the Netherlands: It appears to me that the Trump administration tries to hurt as many people as possible.
    Purposely hurting people is psychopathic and evil.They are a disgrace to mankind.
    I feel for you all.

  12. @whiteraven69

    February 12, 2026 at 8:48 pm

    Americans are getting closer to another massacre and outright killing of citizens in our streets. We are the cusp of a civil war. We have learned nothing from history . This administration and Trump are here to hold a mirror and represent the darkness and ugly of humanity. This is a Call for the human beings to take a stand heal our wounds and anger and move forward in Unity.

Comments are closed.




This area can contain widgets, menus, shortcodes and custom content. You can manage it from the Customizer, in the Second layer section.

 

 

 

  • play_circle_filled

    92.9 : The Torch

  • play_circle_filled

    AGGRO
    'Til Deaf Do Us Part...

  • play_circle_filled

    SLACK!
    The Music That Made Gen-X

  • play_circle_filled

    KUDZU
    The Northwoods' Alt-Country & Americana

  • play_circle_filled

    BOOZHOO
    Indigenous Radio

  • play_circle_filled

    THE FLOW
    The Northwoods' Hip Hop and R&B

play_arrow skip_previous skip_next volume_down
playlist_play