Bill > SR701

This Resolution expresses the South Dakota Senate's support for investigating and initiating an official inquiry into the Medals of Honor awarded to U.S. soldiers involved in the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre. The resolution highlights that the Medal of Honor is the nation's highest award for valor, requiring deeds that clearly distinguish gallantry beyond the call of duty. It argues that honoring the Seventh Cavalry for their actions at Wounded Knee dishonors the medal and implies hostility and genocide against the Great Sioux Nation, citing historical accounts of the massacre where unarmed men, women, and children were killed. The Senate requests that South Dakota's congressional delegation, along with President Biden, support efforts to investigate these awards and, if congressional approval is obtained, to remove the names of those recipients from the Medal of Honor Roll.