Killers of the Flower Moon – David Gran
Wow! Unless you’ve already read this book, my guess is most of you will have never heard of this horrid chapter in America’s history. I sure hadn’t. When I read it, it made me sick to think of what was done in the name of greed. Even government officials were complicit. If you haven’t picked this book up, it’s worth your time. It is not fiction; it’s a historical account of the subsequent investigation and what happened.
This book starts in the 1920’s, when oil was discovered on the reservation lands of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma. As you probably know, when the relocation activities of Indian Nations began in the 19th century, the government usually forced them on to lands that were deemed inhospitable to Caucasians or more simply put, lands that no one wanted. In this case, the discovery of oil on reservation lands was unexpected and it made the Osage Nation very, very rich. Many of the Osage at that time bought cars with their own chauffeurs, built large mansions and had multiple servants, many of them white. There were interracial marriages as well, although in many cases, it appears it was only an effort to get to the money.
During this time period, the Osage people began to die off. Some of the deaths initially appeared to be of natural causes; more of them appeared to be murder. One by one, their numbers were decimated. Even non-tribal members that were investigating the disturbing deaths were murdered. The number of deaths got the attention of J. Edgar Hoover, so he had Tom White, a former Texas Ranger, start investigating with an undercover team. What White and his team found was frightening.
Mollie Burkhart was an Osage American Indian and she and her family were a prime target. One by one, her family members were killed. As each person died, their oil rights would go to a living family member, so Mollie became a bigger and bigger target. What happened to Mollie, her family and the other tribal members still impacts descendants to this day. It’s heartbreaking to read how people so cruel, calculating and greedy could inflict such harm on the Osage.
Hats off to the author, David Grann, for doing such a thorough job of researching old records, talking to family members, including old photos and narratives. He really brings to light the deplorable actions of people back then. It’s well worth reading this piece of history and then comparing it to the prejudices that still exist today. It’s very sad.
