President Trump Signs Rounds’ Wounded Knee Bill into Law

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, today issued the following statement after President Trump signed Rounds' bill, the Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act, into law.

"President Trump has officially signed the Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act into law," said Rounds. "The land at this symbolic and sacred site will now be held in possession of both the Oglala Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes to be preserved for future generations. I'm pleased that our work on this legislation over the past three years has paid off. We will continue to tell the story of Wounded Knee and the events that occurred at this location 135 years ago this month."

The Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act would place 40 acres of land at the site of the Wounded Knee Massacre into restricted fee status, making certain that the land is held by both the Oglala Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes for generations to come.

BACKGROUND:

Rounds first introduced the Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act in June 2023. Ryman LeBeau, Chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, and Frank Star Comes Out, President of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, testified on the legislation in a Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearing. The committee later unanimously passed legislation, but was blocked from passing the full Senate.

Rounds later reintroduced the bill to the 119th Congress in January 2025. The Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act unanimously passed the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in March 2025, and unanimously passed the full Senate on December 11, 2025. This legislation is cosponsored by Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.). Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) introduced companion legislation in the House.

Click HERE to read full bill text.

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