On September 25, 2025, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made an announcement that reopened one of the deepest wounds in Native American history: “We’re making it clear that (the soldiers) deserve those medals. … Their place in our nation’s history is no longer up for debate.”

He was referring to the 20 Medals of Honor awarded to members of the U.S. 7th Cavalry for their role in the Wounded Knee Massacre .

Hegseth’s words are not merely a statement of policy, but reflective of the Trump administration’s lack of historical understanding and its ongoing antagonistic disregard for the nation-to-nation relationship of the U.S. government and Native nations. To insist that the soldiers of the 7th Cavalry “deserve those medals” is to frame the massacre at Wounded Knee as a moment of valor r

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