{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://dustyjohnson.house.gov/media/press-releases/johnsons-wounded-knee-bill-passes-us-house", "Johnson\u2019s Wounded Knee Bill Passes U.S. House", "2025-01-22", "2025", "2025-01", "Republican", "House", "SD", "Dusty Johnson", "J000301", "dustyjohnson.house.gov", "dustyjohnson", "https://dustyjohnson.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Today, the Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act passed the U.S. House unanimously. U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) worked with the Oglala Sioux Tribe and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe to introduce the bill that would preserve a section of the land where hundreds of Lakota Indians were massacred by the U.S. Army.\n\n\u201cIn 2023, I visited the site of the Wounded Knee Massacre. I met with descendants of the survivors, and I saw the bloodstained floorboards of St. John\u2019s Church where the wounded were treated,\u201d said Johnson. \u201cIt was a tragic day in America\u2019s history. My bill acknowledges our mistake and ensures this land will be sacred for generations to come.\u201d\n\n\u201cOn behalf of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, I am encouraged by the swift passage of the Wounded Knee Massacre site bill by the House of the 119th Congress. We continue to support Representative Dusty Johnson\u2019s efforts in Congress to preserve the memory of the Wounded Knee Massacre and the legacy and sacrifice of our ancestors. This sacred site should forever serve to remind us of where we as a country have been and as a marker for how much further we have to go. This bill has bipartisan support and we look forward to a timely and favorable vote by the Senate to protect our Wounded Knee site in perpetuity,\u201d said Frank Star Comes Out, President, Oglala Sioux Tribe.\n\n\u201cWe thank Congressman Dusty Johnson and all the members of the House for acting quickly as the new Congress begins to pass the Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act. This vital legislation honors the memory of our ancestors who were brutally murdered at the Wounded Knee Massacre site and will preserve this sacred ground for future generations and ensures it is maintained as an undeveloped memorial. We urge the Senate to now take up and pass this bill expeditiously so it can be signed into law,\u201d said Ryman LeBeau, Chairman, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe.\n\n\u201cCongressman Johnson has long been a champion of tribal issues in the great state of South Dakota, and his Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act is a continuation of this important work. This legislation will set aside land within the Pine Ridge Reservation as a sacred site and memorial for the Lakota people who died during the tragedy of the Wounded Knee Massacre. I thank Congressman Johnson for his thoughtful work on this bill and look forward to working with him on more legislation in the future,\u201d said House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-AR).\n\nClick here for Johnson\u2019s remarks\n\nLast Congress, the Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act passed the House unanimously but was not voted on by the U.S. Senate. Johnson reintroduced the bill earlier this month.\n\nRead full bill text here. Find the Covenant between both tribes here. Find the map here.\n\nWounded Knee Massacre Background:\n\nIn the late 1880s, a movement called the Ghost Dance swept across the nation. Indians believed that this dance would give stolen land back to the Indians, bringing about a renewal of Native society. Indians would join together, wearing shirts they believed would protect them from bullets, to dance for this renewal, all at the protest of the federal government.\n\nOn December 29th, 1890, a group of Lakota Indians led by Chief Spotted Elk had made camp near Wounded Knee Creek on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. There, U.S. Army 7th Calvary troops were sent to disarm the Lakota. A struggle occurred between the U.S. Army and some of Chief Spotted Elk\u2019s band \u2013 a majority of which consisted of women and children. A shot rang out, and the U.S. Army opened fire on the largely unarmed group, massacring an estimated up to 350-375 Lakota Indians. Twenty-five U.S. soldiers also died.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T17:10:36Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://dustyjohnson.house.gov/media/press-releases/johnsons-wounded-knee-bill-passes-us-house"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8277639281004667, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}