Press Conference: Reps. Heck, Haaland, and Cook to Introduce the Remove the Stain Act in U.S. House

Press Conference

WHAT: Press Conference to announce the introduction of the Remove the Stain Act, a bill rescinding the Medals of Honor awarded for acts at the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre

WHO: Rep. Denny Heck (WA-10)

Rep. Deb Haaland (NM-01)

Oliver "OJ" Semans -- USN Veteran, Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Co-Executive Director of Four Directions, Inc.

Marcella LeBeau -- 1st Lt. Army Nurse Corps, D-Day, French Legion of Honor, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe

Manny Iron Hawk -- Chairman of HAWK 1890 (Heartbeat At Wounded Knee), Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe

Phyllis Hollow Horn -- Oglala Sioux Tribe

WHEN: Tuesday, June 25, 2019, 11:00 a.m. EDT

WHERE: Longworth House Office Building, Room 1334

Reps. Denny Heck (WA-10), Deb Haaland (NM-01), and Paul Cook (CA-08) are introducing in the U.S. House of Representatives theRemove the Stain Act, a bill that rescinds the Medals of Honor awarded for the Wounded Knee Massacre.

Even by the standards of the time, the actions taken by U.S. Cavalry at Wounded Knee Creek on December 29, 1890 shock the conscience. More shocking still is that 20 Medals of Honor were awarded for the massacre.

The Medal of Honor holds a sacred place in our national ethos. It is the highest decoration that can be awarded to a U.S. military servicemember, and it should not be used to legitimize the massacre of innocent civilians.

In 2001, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe passed a resolution expressing that Medals of Honor awarded for the Wounded Knee Massacre should be rescinded, and The National Congress of American Indians has requested that the United States rescind these medals, which not only tarnish the reputation of the Medal of Honor, but also represent a deeply painful history of mistreatment.

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