To: U.S. Congress
Tell Congress: Pass the Remove the Stain Act
I urge you to pass the Remove the Stain Act (S.1915 and H.R.3609), which would revoke the Medal of Honor from 19 of the soldiers who perpetrated the Wounded Knee massacre.
Why is this important?
Indigenous communities and allies have long maintained that at Wounded Knee in 1890, U.S. soldiers didn’t fight a battle — they carried out a massacre.
One hundred years later, Congress apologized to the descendants of the hundreds killed at Wounded Knee, but even today, 19 soldiers who participated in the atrocity are commended with the highest U.S. military award: the Medal of Honor.
For a moment, it seemed a sliver of justice might finally be within reach and the medals would be revoked. In 2022, after decades of fervent organizing and advocacy, Congress and then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin began reviewing whether the medals should be rescinded.
Earlier this year, Trump’s War Secretary, Pete Hegseth, slammed that door shut: “We’re making it clear [the soldiers] deserve those medals. This decision is now final.”
But Hegseth’s wrong — he doesn’t have the final say. Congress can rescind the medals by passing Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Jill Tokuda’s Remove the Stain Act (S.1915, H.R.3609). Public pressure is a surefire way that we’ll force lawmakers to act against a misguided Defense Secretary like Pete Hegseth. Please speak out now.