Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced on Thursday that American soldiers honored after their actions in 1890 near Wounded Knee should be recognized as heroes and keep their Medals of Honor, a decision that incurred criticism.

20 U.S. soldiers from the 7th Cavalry Regiment were awarded the Medal of Honor for the deadly massacre on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation near Wounded Knee Creek, in which the U.S. troops killed between 250-300 Lakota Native Americans, while about 25 American soldiers died as well. In 1990, on the 100th anniversary of the incident, Congress issued a formal apology to the descendants of the Native Americans killed there, but did not revoke the medals.

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