Bill

H.R. 165 (119th): Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act This act directs the Department of the Interior to complete all actions necessary to place approximately 40 acres of land in Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota, into restricted fee status for the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe

Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act This act directs the Department of the Interior to complete all actions necessary to place approximately 40 acres of land in Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota, into restricted fee status for the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. Restricted fee status refers to land that is owned by a tribe or tribal member but is subject to restrictions by the United States against alienation (i.e., sale or transfer) or encumbrance (e.g., liens, leases, or rights-of-way) by operation of law. The act requires the land to be held and maintained as a memorial and sacred site, as outlined by the document titled Covenant Between the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and dated October 21, 2022. Further, it prohibits commercial development and gaming activity on the land.

house · Substantive

Rankings updated October 26, 2026, 11:44 AM ET · Votes through September 30, 2026
Exported candidates: 719 | Filings on file, by office: H: 5838 | P: 1467 | S: 1567. These counts include every filing for that office, so they are larger than the ranked list. One person can have more than one filing. Non-voting delegates are left out.

Recorded summary

The bill directs the Department of the Interior to complete the actions needed to place about 40 acres of land in Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota, into restricted fee status for the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. Restricted fee status bars sale, transfer, or encumbrance by operation of law. The land must be held and maintained as a memorial and sacred site under the Covenant between the two tribes dated October 21, 2022, and commercial development and gaming are prohibited on it.

heritagejusticejustice_for_historic_wrongsland_restorationmemorialsacred_sitestribal_sovereignty

Theological note: The measure concerns the protection of a site that memorializes a massacre of Lakota people, the honoring of the dead, and the preservation of sacred ground from commercial exploitation. Scripture's concern for justice toward the wronged, for truthful remembrance of the dead, and for not profaning what is set apart is relevant here. This is an issue-relevance note, not a final candidate judgment.

How this bill is scored

Recorded votes

Roll 22 · 22-Jan-2025 4:55 PM · On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass · Passed

Yea 416 · Nay 0 · Other 17

Yea

Nay

None recorded.

Other

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