HR-165-119
Became Public Law No: 119-61.
Sponsored by Dusty Johnson (R-SD)
What it does
This law directs the Department of the Interior 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. The land must be held and maintained as a memorial and sacred site under the terms of a covenant signed by both tribes on October 21, 2022. Commercial development and gaming activity on the land are permanently prohibited.
Who benefits
Members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, who gain formal legal control over a site of deep cultural and historical significance. Descendants of the approximately 250–300 Lakota people killed at Wounded Knee in 1890. Native American communities broadly, who may see this as a precedent for federal recognition of sacred sites. Historians, educators, and cultural preservation advocates who value memorialization of the event. Tourists and visitors who seek access to a formally recognized memorial site.
Who is hurt
Current private landowners or any parties holding interests in or adjacent to the 40-acre parcel may face reduced land market activity in the area. Developers or investors who might have sought commercial use of the land lose that opportunity. Tribal gaming interests are explicitly excluded from this land, which may limit future economic options for the tribes themselves. Federal taxpayers bear any administrative costs associated with the land transfer and ongoing federal oversight of restricted fee status.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue that the Wounded Knee site is one of the most significant and painful events in American history — the 1890 massacre killed an estimated 250–300 Lakota men, women, and children — and that formal federal recognition through restricted fee status corrects a long-standing failure to honor that history. They contend that the two tribes have already reached a binding covenant governing the land's use, demonstrating tribal self-determination and readiness for stewardship, and that placing the land in restricted fee status fulfills a moral and legal obligation to the affected nations.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that placing land into restricted fee status removes it from local tax rolls and limits future economic flexibility, potentially burdening surrounding Oglala Lakota County — one of the poorest counties in the United States — with reduced revenue and fewer development options. They contend that the prohibition on gaming activity specifically constrains the tribes' own economic sovereignty over the land, and that Congress is imposing land-use restrictions on tribal property in a manner that limits rather than expands tribal self-determination.