H.R. 165 · 119th Congress

Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act

Introduced on Jan 3, 2025 by Dusty Johnson (R-SD). Became Public Law 119-61.

Stage
Became law
Public Law 119-61
Introduced
Jan 3, 2025
Cosponsors
0
Policy area
Native Americans
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Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. Passed both chambers
  5. Sent to the President
  6. Became law

Official title

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.

Subjects

  • Federal-Indian relations
  • Indian lands and resources rights
  • Land transfers
  • South Dakota
  • State and local taxation

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Public Law, Dec 19, 2025). Public domain.

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.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Dusty JohnsonR-SDSponsor

No cosponsors.

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

  1. On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass
    Jan 22, 2025· House· Passage· Passed 416–0

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Jan 3, 2025Introduced in House
  2. Jan 3, 2025Introduced in House
  3. Jan 3, 2025 · HouseReferred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
  4. Jan 21, 2025 · HouseMr. Westerman moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
  5. Jan 21, 2025 · HouseConsidered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H246-248)
  6. Jan 21, 2025 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 165.
  7. Jan 21, 2025 · HouseAt the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.
  8. Jan 22, 2025 · HouseConsidered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H285)
  9. Jan 22, 2025Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 416 - 0 (Roll no. 22). (text: 1/21/2025 CR H246-247)House · Roll call 22
  10. Jan 22, 2025 · HouseOn motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 416 - 0 (Roll no. 22). (text: 1/21/2025 CR H246-247)House · Roll call 22
  11. Jan 22, 2025 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  12. Jan 23, 2025 · SenateReceived in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
  13. Mar 5, 2025 · SenateCommittee on Indian Affairs. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
  14. Oct 2, 2025Committee on Indian Affairs. Reported by Senator Murkowski without amendment. With written report No. 119-72.
  15. Oct 2, 2025 · SenateCommittee on Indian Affairs. Reported by Senator Murkowski without amendment. With written report No. 119-72.
  16. Oct 2, 2025 · SenatePlaced on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 177.
  17. Dec 11, 2025Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
  18. Dec 11, 2025 · SenatePassed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S8685)
  19. Dec 15, 2025 · SenateMessage on Senate action sent to the House.
  20. Dec 18, 2025Presented to President.
  21. Dec 18, 2025 · HousePresented to President.
  22. Dec 19, 2025Signed by President.
  23. Dec 19, 2025Signed by President.
  24. Dec 19, 2025Became Public Law No: 119-61.
  25. Dec 19, 2025Became Public Law No: 119-61.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 5, 2026 · loaded Oct 5, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.