‘My land is where my dead lie buried’

WOUNDED KNEE — December 29, 2025. Under a cold winter sky on the very ground where hundreds of Mnicoujou and Hunkpapa Lakota were massacred 135 years ago, tribal leaders, descendants, and members of South Dakota’s congressional delegation gathered to commemorate the anniversary and celebrate the passage of the Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act. The new federal law permanently protects the 40 acre site under joint ownership of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe.

Oglala Sioux Tribe President Frank Star Comes Out opened the event by grounding the crowd in both history and the long legislative journey that led to this moment.

“This started under President Kevin Killer’s administration,” he said, acknowledging Killer in the crowd. “Our council, along with Cheyenne River, moved quickly to secure the land. That’s how this all began.”

He explained how the work continued across administrations and tribal councils.

“When Chairman LeBeau and I came into office, we carried it forward with the help of our congressional delegation,” he said. “There’s still much more work ahead, but today we honor how this came to be.”

He also invited attendees to follow the delegation later to the historic church where survivors were cared for in 1890.

Chairman Ryman LeBeau spoke early in the ceremony, grounding the day in the shared Lakota memory carried by Cheyenne River families.

“For generations, our families carried the memory of Wounded Knee with pain, dignity, and truth,” he said. “Today, by protecting this land, we honor our ancestors and ensure their stories will never again be pushed aside.”

He emphasized the unity between the tribes:

“Cheyenne River stood with Oglala from the beginning because this history belongs to all of us. Protecting this place is an act of sovereignty, of healing, and of love for the generations yet to come.”

Crow Creek Sioux Tribal Chairman Peter Lengkeek followed, speaking to the shared Lakota identity of those who died and survived.

“Our relatives who fell here were Lakota from many bands and many homelands,” he said. “Crow Creek stands here today because their blood ties us together.”

“When we say this ground is sacred, we mean it. This law ensures that no one will ever again exploit or disrespect this place where our ancestors took their last breaths,” he added.

Congressman Dusty Johnson, who carried the bill through the U.S. House, spoke with a mix of solemnity and gratitude. He recalled his earlier visit to Wounded Knee, where descendants shared stories passed down through generations.

“Several years ago, descendants told me the stories their grandmothers and grandfathers shared with them,” he said. “I will never forget their willingness to share those sacred stories with me.”

Johnson emphasized that the new law is not symbolic but a concrete act of respect.

“For 135 years, people have gathered here in grief,” he said. “Today, for the first time, we can also acknowledge a major accomplishment — working together to protect this sacred site forever.”

He credited tribal leadership for driving the bill forward.

“This would not have passed without your persistence,” Johnson said. “You brought light into a place long marked by darkness.”

He then presented framed copies of the Congressional Record and the legislation to President Star Comes Out and Chairman LeBeau.

Senator Mike Rounds approached the podium with a historical lens, recalling how he first learned of Wounded Knee through Black Elk Speaks. He recounted Black Elk’s eyewitness account of the massacre and the rescue of two infant girls found beside their mothers.

Then he invoked the teaching Black Elk attributed to Crazy Horse — a line that resonated deeply with the crowd standing on the very ground where hundreds of Lakota were killed:

“My land is where my dead lie buried.”

“This land holds the memory of your ancestors,” Rounds said. “And now, through this legislation, it will be protected in perpetuity.”

He thanked the tribal councils and descendants for their persistence.

“Your determination made this possible,” he said. “You stayed committed to protecting this land, and today we honor that commitment.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune framed his remarks around the responsibility owed to future generations. He called the massacre “a blight on our state and our nation,” and emphasized that preserving the site is essential to ensuring such atrocities are never repeated.

“When you hear the reading of the names, it becomes very real,” he said. “Every one of those people had a family. They deserved the chance to see their children and grandchildren grow up.”

Thune praised the persistence of tribal leadership.

“This law passed because you refused to let this history be forgotten,” he said. “Your leadership ensures that future generations will understand what happened here — and why it must never happen again.”

Also speaking was BIA Deputy Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Scott Davis, who thanked President Star Comes Out and Chairman LeBeau for the invitation and reflected on the emotional weight of returning to Wounded Knee. Davis recalled first learning about reconciliation during South Dakota’s 1990 “Year of Reconciliation,” noting that journalist Tim Giago challenged Governor George Mickelson to confront the state’s history and helped spark that effort.

Davis said the gathering at Wounded Knee felt like a continuation of that work. “What we are doing here today is part of the same journey—truth, healing, and reconciliation,” he said. “Today we create new memories together, good memories we can look back on as a beginning.” He urged tribal, state, and federal leaders to continue walking that path together.

Among those present were the descendants of those massacred at Wounded Knee, whose presence brought a living connection to the history being honored.

Mike He Crow, a direct descendant, offered a brief but powerful history of the massacre, reminding the crowd that the stories passed down through families are not distant history but lived memory.

“Our grandparents and great grandparents carried these stories so we would never forget,” he said. “We stand here today because they survived.”

After his remarks, descendants stepped forward to read aloud the names of those who were massacred. One by one, the names echoed across the site — a solemn reminder that each belonged to a family, a story, a future stolen.

As the ceremony came to an end, the crowd gathered for one final moment of honor. In a gesture of deep cultural respect, Star Quilts were presented to President Frank Star Comes Out, Chairman Ryman LeBeau, Chairman Peter Lenkeek, Congressman Dusty Johnson, Senator Mike Rounds, and Senator John Thune and BIA Deputy Assistant Scott Davis.

“These quilts represent our respect for the work you have done,” Star Comes Out said. “They are given from the heart of our people.”

The gifting of the Star Quilts closed the ceremony with warmth, dignity, and unmistakable Lakota tradition — a final reminder that the protection of Wounded Knee is not just legislative work, but a sacred responsibility shared across nations.

(Contact Ernestine Anunkasan Hopa at editor@nativesunnews.today)

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