WASHNGTON — In another white supremacist insult to minority people, President Trump reinstated military honors for soldiers who massacred 250 Lakota people at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota in 1890. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who is white, made the announcement. Senator Tina Smith, of Minnesota, where many Lakota descendants now live, immediately deplored the Trump decision: “There was no honor in what happened that day. This is a stain on our history.” In 1990, a century after the massacre, Congress apologized to Lakota descendants and withdrew Medal of Honor ribbons for 19 soldiers of the Seventh Cavalry Regiment. The soldiers opened fire on a remote Lakota encampment, killing everyone including women and children. This was after the Indians had surrendered.
Wounded Knee. Historian Dee Brown brought wide attention to the U.S. policy of the 1800s to displace indigenous peoples. Dee’s 1970 best-seller, “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee,” sold 5 million copies. Still in print.