HR 165 · 119th CongressEnacted

Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act

Latest updateDec 19, 2025

Became Public Law No: 119-61.

Native Americans

Sponsor

Dusty Johnson

Introduced

January 3, 2025

Latest action

December 19, 2025

Legislative Progress

How far this bill has traveled through Congress

Introduced

Bill filed in chamber

Committee

Reviewed & reported

Passed Chamber

House or Senate vote

Passed Both

House & Senate agree

President

Sent to White House

Enacted

Signed into law

Introduced

Bill filed in chamber

Committee

Reviewed & reported

Passed Chamber

House or Senate vote

Passed Both

House & Senate agree

President

Sent to White House

Enacted

Signed into law

Latest Action

Became Public Law No: 119-61.

Plain-Language Summary

AI Generated

The Wounded Knee Massacre site in South Dakota has long held profound historical and spiritual significance for the Oglala Sioux Tribe and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. Currently, approximately 40 acres at the location—where federal troops killed hundreds of Lakota people on December 29, 1890—are not held in a status that grants the tribes full sovereign control and protection from state taxation and outside interference. The land's legal status creates uncertainty about tribal jurisdiction, potential state taxation, and the tribes' ability to manage the site according to their own governance and cultural practices without federal bureaucratic review.

The Secretary of the Interior must complete all necessary actions within one year to transfer the 40-acre Wounded Knee site into restricted fee status held jointly by the Oglala Sioux Tribe and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. Under restricted fee status, the tribes will own the land outright, exercise full civil and criminal jurisdiction over it as part of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, and be exempt from state and local taxation. The Secretary must also resolve utility agreements and survey documentation. The land will be governed by a covenant between the two tribes dated October 21, 2022, and cannot be transferred without congressional and tribal consent. Gaming activities are prohibited under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

Once the Secretary completes the transfer process, the tribes gain permanent control over the sacred site and memorial. The change takes effect within one year of enactment, with no new federal funding required beyond Interior Department administrative costs. Existing utility easements and private agreements remain in place. The tribes can now develop and manage the site—including memorials, cultural programs, and educational facilities—according to their own priorities and tribal law, without state interference or federal approval for land use decisions. This establishes a model for tribal sovereignty over historically significant indigenous lands.

Key Provisions

1Directs the Secretary of the Interior to transfer approximately 40 acres at the Wounded Knee Massacre site to restricted fee status held by the Oglala Sioux Tribe and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe within 365 days of enactment.
2Establishes that the tribal land shall be owned by the tribes, subject to tribal civil and criminal jurisdiction, exempt from state and local taxation, and not transferable without congressional and tribal consent.
3Requires the Secretary to resolve all utility service agreements and complete survey documentation and legal descriptions necessary for the land transfer.
4Prohibits gaming activity on the tribal land under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and requires the land to be used according to the October 21, 2022 covenant between the two tribes.
5Preserves existing private and municipal encumbrances, rights-of-way, easements, and utility service agreements that were in effect before enactment.

★ Why this matters

The tribes gain permanent sovereign control over the Wounded Knee Massacre site, a location of profound historical trauma and spiritual importance. State and local governments lose taxation authority over the land. The tribes can now develop memorials, cultural programs, and educational facilities according to their own governance and priorities without federal bureaucratic review of land-use decisions. Tribal jurisdiction over the site becomes absolute, strengthening tribal self-determination over sacred and historically significant territory.

● Who this affects

The Oglala Sioux Tribe and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe are the primary beneficiaries, gaining full ownership and control of the site. The Department of the Interior must complete administrative and legal work to execute the transfer. South Dakota state and local governments lose potential tax revenue from the land. Visitors and descendants of Wounded Knee Massacre victims gain access to a site managed by the tribes themselves. Utility companies holding existing easements retain their rights under the bill's preservation clause.

Bill Text

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H.R.165

                     One Hundred Nineteenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America

                          AT THE FIRST SESSION

           Begun and held at the City of Washington on Friday,
         the third day of January, two thousand and twenty-five

                                 An Act

 
    To direct the Secretary of the Interior to complete all actions 
 necessary for certain land to be held in restricted fee status by the 
    Oglala Sioux Tribe and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, and for other 
                                purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
    This Act may be cited as the ``Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and 
Sacred Site Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
    In this Act:
        (1) Restricted fee status.--The term ``restricted fee status'' 
    means a status in which the Tribal land--
            (A) shall continue to be owned by the Tribes;
            (B) shall be part of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and 
        expressly made subject to the civil and criminal jurisdiction 
        of the Oglala Sioux Tribe;
            (C) shall not be transferred without the consent of 
        Congress and the Tribes;
            (D) shall not be subject to taxation by a State or local 
        government; and
            (E) shall not be subject to any provision of law providing 
        for the review or approval by the Secretary of the Interior 
        before the Tribes may use the land for any purpose as allowed 
        by the document titled ``Covenant Between the Oglala Sioux 
        Tribe and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe'' and dated October 
        21, 2022, directly, or through agreement with another party.
        (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
    the Interior.
        (3) Tribal land.--The term ``Tribal land'' means the 
    approximately 40 acres (including the surface and subsurface 
    estate, and mineral estate, and any and all improvements, 
    structures, and personal property on those acres) on the Pine Ridge 
    Indian Reservation in Oglala Lakota County, at Rural County Road 4, 
    Wounded Knee, South Dakota, and generally depicted as ``Area of 
    Interest'' on the map entitled ``Wounded Knee Sacred Site and 
    Memorial Land'' and dated October 26, 2022, which is a segment of 
    the December 29, 1890, Wounded Knee Massacre site.
        (4) Tribes.--The term ``Tribes'' means the Oglala Sioux Tribe 
    and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River Reservation, 
    both tribes being among the constituent tribes of the Great Sioux 
    Nation and signatories to the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 between 
    the United States of America and the Great Sioux Nation, 15 Stat. 
    635.
SEC. 3. LAND HELD IN RESTRICTED FEE STATUS BY THE TRIBES.
    (a) Action by Secretary.-…

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Joaquin Castro

D-Texas · District 20

Likely support

No explicit statement about the Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act is available on the provided website content. However, several factors suggest possible support: (1) Castro is a Democratic representative recognized as highly effective and legislative-minded, having introduced 30+ bills in the 118th Congress; (2) Democrats generally tend to support Native American rights and historical commemoration efforts; (3) his district is in Texas with significant Hispanic/Latino representation, suggesting alignment with minority rights advocacy; (4) the bill's focus on memorializing a historical tragedy and protecting sacred sites aligns with typical Democratic values around historical accountability and indigenous sovereignty. However, confidence is moderate due to lack of explicit voting record or statements on Native American issues, and the absence of any mention of this bill or related topics on his website.

Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act

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Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act

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