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The Indiana National Guard has deleted past social media posts celebrating Black History Month, Juneteenth, Women’s History Month and other cultural celebrations, as part of a new Department of Defense directive to remove such “identity-based” celebrations.

Deleted posts on the Indiana National Guard’s X account, formerly known as Twitter, included a commemoration of the end of slavery in the U.S. known as Juneteenth and a “thank you to all women who paved the way” posted last March in honor of International Women’s Day.

A public affairs officer for the Indiana National Guard confirmed to IndyStar that the posts are being deleted “in alignment” with a new policy from President Donald Trump’s new DOD director Pete Hegseth.

“Our organization is complying accordingly,” according to said Maj. V. Gino Georgetti, director of strategic communications and public affairs for the Indiana National Guard.

A Pentagon news release from Feb. 27 states that all agencies “must remove and archive DoD news articles, photos, and videos promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), including content related to critical race theory, gender ideology, and identity-based programs” by March 5.

The Indiana National Guard on Wednesday additionally posted and then deleted on X an explanation for deleting such posts.

Each Chicago Democratic Rep. Earl Harris Jr., the chair of the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus, said the post deletions were “disheartening, to say the least.”

“Over 50,000 Hoosier veterans belong to a minority group, and their contributions – and the obstacles they overcame – ought to be recognized and honored,” Harris told IndyStar. “There is an overwhelming number of forces working to divide us based on race, gender and nationality. We can’t fall for it.”

It’s unclear how many posts will be deleted due to the policy. By midday Wednesday, at least six X posts had been deleted, but some identical Instagram and LinkedIn posts were still live.

For example, eight months ago, the Indiana National Guard account posted that it “proudly commemorates Juneteenth, a historic day that marks the end of slavery in the United States.”

Now, the link to the post says “this page doesn’t exist” on X.

Other deleted X posts highlighted videos and pictures of Hoosier Indiana National Guard members who wanted to share their stories for Black History Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and Women’s History Month.

IndyStar asked for a full list of posts that had been impacted but the Indiana National Guard did not immediately provide that information.

Contact senior government accountability reporter Hayleigh Colombo at hcolombo@indystar.com.