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WASHINGTON, Sept 27 (Reuters) - The National Congress of American Indians strongly condemned on Saturday a Pentagon review that decided against revoking medals awarded to U.S. soldiers at the 1890 Battle of Wounded Knee, an event which many historians consider a massacre. "Celebrating war crimes is not patriotic. This decision undermines truth-telling, reconciliation, and the healing that Indian Country and the United States still need," Larry Wright Jr., the Congress' executive director, said in a statement. Advertisement · Scroll to continue The Battle of Wounded Knee, also known as the Wounded Knee Massacre, took place on Dec. 29, 1890, in South Dakota, when U.S. soldiers killed and wounded more than 300 Lakota Sioux men, women and children. Lloyd Austin, who was the Biden administration's defense secretary, had ordered a review of the military honors but had not made a final decision before leaving office in January. In a video posted on X late on Thursday, President Donald Trump's defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, said a review panel had recommended allowing the soldiers keep their medals in a study completed last year, and that he followed that recommendation. Advertisement · Scroll to continue "We're making it clear that they deserve those medals. This decision is now final and their place in our nation's history is no longer up for debate," Hegseth said. Hegseth criticized Austin for not taking the same decision, saying that the former Pentagon chief was more interested in being "politically correct than historically correct." A resolution passed by Congress in 1990 expressed "deep regret" for the conflict. "It is proper and timely for the Congress of the United States of America to acknowledge... the historic significance of the Massacre at Wounded Knee Creek, to express its deep regret to the Sioux people and in particular to the descendants of the victims and survivors for this terrible tragedy," the resolution said. The events at Wounded Knee marked the end of the Indian wars, during which Native Americans were coerced to cede their lands and then forced onto reservations. Ad Break Coming Up NEXT StayNext OffEnglish 180p288p360p480p540p576p720pHD1080pHDAuto (180p) About ConnatixV2064555287 About ConnatixV2064555287 Continue watchingafter the adVisit Advertiser websiteGO TO PAGE Hegseth has taken aim at diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at the Pentagon since he took office. The Pentagon has ended commemorations of identity month celebrations, like Native American History Month and Black History Month. The Pentagon drew fire earlier this year for briefly erasing online references to the Navajo Code Talkers, who developed an unbreakable code that helped Allied forces win World War Two. Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Nick Zieminski Purchase Licensing Rights Phil StewartThomson ReutersPhil Stewart has reported from more than 60 countries, including Afghanistan, Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, China and South Sudan. An award-winning Washington-based national security reporter, Phil has appeared on NPR, PBS NewsHour, Fox News and other programs and moderated national security events, including at the Reagan National Defense Forum and the German Marshall Fund. He is a recipient of the Edwin M. Hood Award for Diplomatic Correspondence and the Joe Galloway Award.EmailXLinkedinIdrees AliThomson ReutersNational security correspondent focusing on the Pentagon in Washington D.C. Reports on U.S. military activity and operations throughout the world and the impact that they have. Has reported from over two dozen countries to include Iraq, Afghanistan, and much of the Middle East, Asia and Europe. From Karachi, Pakistan.EmailXInstagram
