Rep. Dusty Johnson
The U.S. House of Representatives on Sept. 20 advanced legislation sponsored by U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) that would set aside roughly 40 acres of land in his home state to be held and maintained as a memorial and sacred site for the Lakota Indians.
The Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act, H.R. 3371, which Rep. Johnson sponsored on May 16, would preserve a section of the land where on Dec. 29, 1890, the U.S. Army’s 7th Cavalry massacred hundreds of Lakota Indians.
“What happened at Wounded Knee is a stain on our nation’s past that cannot be washed away,” Rep. Johnson said. “But passage of this bill is a step closer to properly memorializing the lives lost and protecting the land forever.”
The U.S. Senate received H.R. 3371 for action on Sept. 21 and referred it to the U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee for consideration.
According to his staff, Rep. Johnson spent months working in coordination with the Oglala Sioux Tribe and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe on crafting H.R. 3371, which in June unanimously passed the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee.
Specifically, H.R. 3371 would direct the U.S. Department of the Interior to complete all actions necessary to place approximately 40 acres of land in Oglala Lakota County, S.D., into restricted fee status for the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, according to the congressional record bill summary.
Restricted fee status refers to land that is by law owned by a tribe or tribal member but is subject to restrictions by the United States against sale or transfer or encumbrance, such as by liens, leases, or rights-of-way, the summary says, and would prohibit commercial development and gaming activity on the land.
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Chairman Ryman LeBeau and Oglala Sioux Tribe President Frank Star Comes Out support the measure.