From the archives: The Osage murders and "Killers of the Flower Moon"

In the early 20th century, an oil rush in the Osage Nation, located in Oklahoma, produced a torrent of oil revenues for the Native American tribe, making them the richest people per capita in the world. But their wealth invited greed, exploitation and murder on the part of white "guardians" who came to control the Osage's money, and would lead to the first major investigation by the FBI. In this "Sunday Morning" story originally broadcast April 30, 2017, correspondent Lee Cowan talks with David Grann, author of "Killers of the Flower Moon," about the reign of terror against the Osage.
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[@ogggggggggggggggggg1]

As a member of the Osage tribe who's great grandmother was mentioned in the KOTFM book and whose uncle was in the film, I'm honored that he made this film. Sure it was long and may not be as remembered as Taxi Driver or Raging Bull, but my people needed their story told.

[@chrisnewman5291]

Long film but really interesting and sad at the same time. Native American culture is fascinating. I am sorry that your people had to go through this. But at least you can be proud your family was at the front of telling this story 👌.

[@wacodraco1558]

I watched this movie in theaters three times so far and I am quite the movie critic…this will definitely be remembered

[@downwiththeclique7239]

I saw it last night, and we went to a 9:30pm showing. It was long, but it was very good. The story is really sticking with me

[@INeedABlessingNow]

I am grateful to David Grann for telling this long-overdue story. I must admit that had it not been made into this motion picture masterpiece, I still would know nothing of the story. I commend film director Martin Scorsese for staying true in depicting an epic American tragedy. After seeing the film, I feel that it is greater than the two Scorsese works that you referenced. Peace and blessings to the Osage Nation, may the ancestors rest in eternal power.

[@Sammy_lovvve]

I just watched this movie, literally leaving the cinema now and my blood pressure went through the roof 😢

[@miguelsoliz772]

I am a Native American and studied native history, this was just another horrible act done to Native Americans. This is what is happening to native Hawaiians. There land is valuable and people want it and will do horribly things to acquire it.

[@heather4089]

Slowly is happening in Puerto Rico now. My people are so naive that sees it as growth in the island but they are not seeing what they are doing right in our faces. Replacing us.

[@zthegreat4538]

Seems we all have gone through or are going through horror's from the hands of the same enemy.

[@skeletorlikespotatoes7846]

​@@heather4089who is replacing you? Not white people

[@stiannobelisto573]

Unfortunately that is how things worked back then, conquest and colonisation, you want your land back then you must fight for it

[@serdownofhousebad1127]

Same thing happened in Polynesia, brother. British/Dutch/French showed up, fought a war they actually couldn't win oddly enough due to the Maori's guerilla and trench warfare tactics, but they got us with a treaty in the end. Now over 80% of Māori land is owned by the crown, our government continues to sell what little territory we have to real estate while tribes protest and get carried away by riot police, they outlawed our language and cultural practices for decades, and the Māori only make 17% of NZ's population. What happened to your ancestors was barbaric and cruel, yes some of the American tribes knew war and hurt each other for a long time, but not all of them and certainly not on such a scale as the genocide you all faced. I hope your tribe has held onto their culture despite the hardships and I pray for all native people of America who still to this day go missing from reservations without investigation or suffer still under the U.S government

[@teamcougars]

Disgusting how we weren’t taught about this in school … I’m 54 graduated in 1987 and I am just now learning about this 😢I want to see the movie now.

[@rockbandwii6]

It was a very good movie.

[@Laynenelson320]

My history teacher in high school here in mn talked a little about it and I graduated in 2017

[@CarlosCruz-ll5ez]

the same thing could be said of Black Wall Street and coinciding it also happened in Oklahoma!

[@michaelschramm1064]

Guess what we also were not taught? The Trail of Tears, The Battle of Wounded Knee, The Battle of Little Bighorn, King Phillips War…

[@adofominka8767]

I’m so sick of people lamenting what they were not taught in school. Grade school is supposed to give you a foundational education. College and other types of professional training are designed to train and indoctrinate people to be wage slaves. Besides that, surely one can’t learn everything in school. This is why it is important to strive to a life-long learner and seeker of understanding. With the internet we can learn almost anything with a little effort and initiative. Nobody is hiding anything. The information is in plain view and literally at people’s fingertips. I understand that sometimes we don’t know what we don’t know or even where to begin, but there are even ways to overcome this obstacle.

[@d_c_C]

I’m so glad this story is being told on the big screen! It’s so important for audiences to not just read but to SEE the horrific violence done to the native Americans. You can’t white wash the truth and you can’t keep it hidden forever.

[@euniceransfer7873]

Amen

[@orangemanbad]

Don’t think it’s about that. It’s good old fashioned organized crime.

[@Frenic1]

Will Hollywood tell the full true story?? Highly doubtful...

[@d_c_C]

@@Frenic1 even if they don’t tell the full thing the fact that it’s still being made is important. How many films showing the atrocities done to the native Americans can you name? … right, there are so few.

[@Xxrocknrollgod]

100 years is pretty good

[@brenda9990]

This story needs to be told for all to see the atrocities the Native Osage people had to endure because of greed.

[@silencedogood711]

Seriously. Someone should make a movie about it. Maybe a big time director like Spielberg or Nolan. Ooh and some big time actors like brad pitt or something. That would be such a great film!

[@iricandescence]

lol

[@murph7421]

@@silencedogood711 You're never gonna believe this...

[@chinibubu411]

By the yt man! Confirmed

[@murph7421]

@@chinibubu411 the KZbin man?

[@9liveslisa]

Sickening. Such greed and inhumanity.

[@ivanfranco770]

As a Native American i am just happy this story is being told!

[@dianaknapp1015]

I’m from a European descent and this is another story that makes me ashamed of my ancestors. I absolutely cannot fathom the cruelty that they bestowed on so many innocent lives.

[@williamcarter9066]

Which is one of the saddest things I’ve ever seen posted!! The story is told by a white Italian director an he is ironic but he hasn’t lived one single second of an Native Americans life an I personally as a black man can’t stand it !!

[@therollerlollerman]

⁠@@williamcarter9066 then it must have so pathetic for Frederick Douglass to have said of John Brown: “His zeal in the cause of freedom was infinitely superior to mine,” right? If you think human compassion is divided by “race” you are still misled

[@whiteknob7944]

Yeah. It won’t change anything. It’s already being seen as a white mans greatest movie! About natives. Red men of the woods.

[@wacodraco1558]

@@williamcarter9066the Osage gave Scorsese the green light: their team spent months in the Oklahoma reservation learning the stories and culture, reading the book and learning the language from the people. That was authentic Osage language they were speaking. Forget what you’re talking about; I’m Black too. But Mr. Scorsese took a risk at 80 years old, and knocked this one out of the Fenway Park

[@elliewegman1846]

I have just finished reading the book... It is well-researched, well written and shocking. Well worth a read.

[@robertcope9494]

I read it last year. I plan on see if the movie is close to the book.

[@debbluitt]

What's the name of the book?

[@robertcope9494]

As I recall the same as the movie.@@debbluitt

[@sherryzimmerman9220]

Thank You Thank You for telling this story…I taught High School for 33 years and loved it…..but my Best Work came the next 13 years as I worked as a Court Appointed Advocate for neglected and abused children in Pierce County Juvenile Court, Washington State…..and my focus became Native American Children …..I had the privilege of working to reunite children with a number of their tribes across the nation…..ie Puyallup, Squaxin , Standing Rock…….my hope is for a truth and reconciliation and an Indigenous Day recognizing the First People of this country…..the LAND cries out for it…..Thank You for this engaging piece and this moment in time….

[@flynnspears7502]

Very interesting the work you do. Much of this countries true history of oppression and acts of cruelty against anyone not White continues to come to light. The book Killer's Of The Flower Moon is a painfull read. Although not directly related to the atrocities you work to correct...

[@user-te6eo1gw9l]

That is admirable of you.

[@coleengoodell7523]

There is such a day and unfortunately it was set by who knows to be the same day as Columbus day. Awful.

[@JoeMama-tl4tr]

One of the most evil people ever were the ones who harmed the Osage. It was all for greed and destroyed families while the government invited the abuse

[@beingmyself000]

Unit 731. Human medical test subjects at the hands of the Japanese which was allowed by the US government in exchange for information. Hollywood makes a movie and you talk about “the most evil”. History is riddled with evil.

[@kiefmanning7394]

I heard a couple Osage were beat senseless with this book.

[@CarolynFrazier-nu4xz]

That is because the Government was them, their own kind they had that privilege to commit these crimes.

[@olyokie]

@@CarolynFrazier-nu4xz What kind?

[@monique4540]

​@@olyokieyou know😂

[@TB-yp4un]

Absolutely one of the best historical books ever written! This story needs to be shared in every classroom in America!

[@melissaomalia9870]

I recommended it to ALL of my AP US history students

[@chrispaschal7955]

You can bet that will not happen.

[@HskHeroReborn]

They will claim CRT 🤦🏾‍♂️

[@CreoleLadyBug]

Book will be banned shortly.

[@reneesheeran4432]

​@@HskHeroReborn CRT?

[@tamaramartin4015]

Many years ago, i worked with a professor whose grandmother was a victim of the Reign of Terror. Denny had grown up believing she died of kidney disease, then he heard it was suicide. He couldn't accept that she would do that -- she was found lying next to her baby daughter, Denny's mother -- so he set out to find the truth. Quite a story, a horrible, terrible story.

[@GayleTate]

😢😮

[@tonyp5997]

Lily Gladstone who plays Mollie Burkhart in the film adaptation is definitely getting a lot of major awards for her role.

[@Bun800]

When I was working on a TV show back in summer '21, a lot of us had heard about Scorsese's latest being filmed in OK and possibly Kentucky. But I never expected it to be a story such as *this.* If you're not on a particular film shoot nor have friends working on it you genuinely don't know what's being produced. But oh my god, this is a terrifying film I'll be seeing in theaters. As a white person in my early 30s I am so sickened by how we treated Natives and still treat them to this day. I'm very blessed to have been brought to several pow-wows when I was a child. Not only were they fun, I think overall it was a great lesson in decency and learning tolerance at a young age. You can tell David is a good person, despite all the horrific hardships of the Osage the truth he found out had to be revealed. That he still hurts from this writing and research journey says so much. Thank you CBS Sunday Morning for another excellent topic coverage.

[@KylieJonkman]

Tolerance? Of whom?

[@Bun800]

"tolerance" as in being open minded to the world, not a person or people. @@KylieJonkman

[@grandpoohbah1037]

Tolorence of EVIL people. Still to this day.

[@meequon1]

The original novel written about this history by a Native American woman Linda Hogan called Mean Spirit in 1990 was nominated for a Pulitzer prize in 1991, worth a read also from a native person's perspective.

[@Auntkekebaby]

Thank you.

[@user-uy5ml4gq8s]

The US government’s mistreatment of Native Americans is one of this country’s greatest sins. As a person who has Cherokee in my family tree I am saddened by this

[@justathoughtmyfriend1403]

I'd edit---genocide.

[@user-uy5ml4gq8s]

I agree

[@skeletorlikespotatoes7846]

No it wasn't 😅

[@skeletorlikespotatoes7846]

​@@justathoughtmyfriend1403it wasn't genocide

[@Svensk7119]

​@@skeletorlikespotatoes7846 It often was. If not comprehensively planned, it still killed enough to fit the definition.

[@katecoffee4744]

I spent a lot of time in this area as a child. To some it may seem a bleak landscape but I found magic in it. I didn’t learn about the horrors until I was well into adulthood. I still visit this area and still feel the magic but, now, with a touch of sadness and shame.

[@CallMeErie]

More of these kinds of stories need to be told. Silence and whitewashing allow the majority culture to feel superior, while dehumanizing others.

[@richstex4736]

They would just cry that you're woke.

[@donbrasco8899]

How Racist of you.

[@doctordl7757]

And then the majority culture turn around and write books, create film and digital content on these things make a ton of money thus further exploiting pain and suffering from their atrocities.

[@texaswunderkind]

Those who preach American Exceptionalism don't want to talk about slavery, or mistreatment of native people, or the internment of Japanese-Americans during the war. Anything that besmirches the "shining beacon on the hill" imagery is to be banned. Ironically, owning up to the mistakes of the past would actually help America become the beacon of freedom it could be. Hiding it, covering it up, and rewriting history will only prevent the promise of the United States from being realized.

[@JP2GiannaT]

I'm honestly confused when people say stuff like this, because I DID learn about this growing up. We read "Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee" in high school, I read books about the forced reservation school system and trail of tears in middle school, and I learned about Native culture in elementary school. And I grew up in conservative Texas! Was I just unusual for...I dunno, reading? Did I just get lucky with my teachers?

[@cherylrleigh1912]

"Killers" is an artistic masterpiece, and the tragic events that unfolded among the Osage people parallel the experiences of African Americans in the Oklahoma Greenwood District, known as Black Wall Street, who similarly acquired oil-rich lands.

[@ronbarton7799]

That's a great point

[@conniegray9108]

My soul cries for this ongoing sad and sorry world. Every corner has greed and evil and so much spirit is lost and will continue until the end of time.

[@scourge6563]

​@@conniegray9108 ... or until the extinction of the species, most probably by its own hand.

[@lisaellis2593]

Greed, plain and simple.

[@BillyLintzenich-wf7sk]

​@@scourge6563no by the hand of God.

[@yungacedagoat2819]

I’m a proud Choctaw and I live in Oklahoma this is my first time hearing this story I can’t imagine what my ancestors went through back then that has yet been talked about my heart breaks for my fellow natives 🥲

[@Corgi_Manu]

Every American should watch this Movie. PERIOD.

[@jillvidal7549]

David Grann is a genius writer and a true historian with the objective of exposing the horrific wrongs against the Osage people. Grann a silent hero who made a loud impact to reveal the truths.

[@cherylrleigh1912]

The guardianship system, as it applied to African American Oklahomans who owned their land's oil rights, involved the appointment of a white guardian for the children of the landowners. The children would serve as wards, and this arrangement effectively stripped the landowners of their legal authority to make decisions regarding their own property.

[@ronbarton7799]

What is a good source to get information on that history

[@lolodee3528]

AFRICAN? Is THAT so? 🤦🏼‍♀️

[@thechiefwildhorse4651]

Caucasians only have wealth because of this -COMANCHE NATION

[@theoriginalmr.j1422]

​@@lolodee3528 YES!!!

[@orchid4308]

Sarah Rector. Google her .

[@megankenworthy6345]

I lived in Oklahoma for 10 years. I love the Osage community. I am glad these stories are being told, even if they are painful.

[@lukodaian]

Beautifully done CBS .thanks for sharing history

[@hayleygirl67]

"Killers of the Flower Moon" is such a well-written book. I don't usually enjoy non-fiction writing style, but this is written so well and is so captivating, highly recommend it!

[@johnishikawa2200]

This story is an example of why it is so important to vote , and to vote locally . To ignore the power in state legislatures and courts is to invite wicked people to take over . Those white people who did these hideous things to those Osage people had the police , the judges , the courts , and the legislatures sewed up , off of the reservations . The Osage didn't stand a chance against them .

[@uncleg1623]

They will also try to ban any books on it.

[@cswrawr]

Very important and worth noting, native americans didn't have the right to vote at all before 1924 and in most cases were still prevented from participating in elections for several decades after that and to this day there are barriers on voters living on reservations.

[@7996hobguy]

No one mentions that this became the 2nd largest population of Jewish in the US, I wonder if that will be mentioned in the movie. And there were more lawyers per capital than anywhere else in the world.

[@bryanwilson5812]

You act like they were innocent when this is exactly how they got land in the first place!

[@johnishikawa2200]

@bryanwilson5812 : Whaaaaaaaaaaat ?!? How did " they get the land in the first place " ? U mean the Osage ? Are the Osage the " they " ? U need to read and learn . Watch this film - find out a few things .

[@contessachristabella259]

I remember reading or hearing about this. So glad their story is finally being shown on the big screen for everyone to see.

[@Spiral.Dynamics]

My grandmother was born in November of 1923 in southeast Oklahoma. She was half Native American. She died a few years ago and she never said a word about what life was like before she was born.

[@ajruther67]

@@DL-ep5uk Parents usually pass down the stories through generations. I have been told so many stories of what life was like for my father and grandparents.

[@texaswunderkind]

Life was tough, no doubt. My wife's grandfather grew up in Lawton, eventually attending college at OU before World War II made him a career military man. Even as a white man, he grew up incredibly poor during the Dust Bowl, Great Depression era Oklahoma. Even as an old man he was famous for pinching every penny.

[@Magsomagpie]

One of the best books I ever read! Had me going through so many feelings while reading it. Highly recommend.

[@tonyarussell7351]

Totally agree. I too have the book and it is hard to put down. I have recommended this book to a coworker and her book club.

[@laurabenevelli6783]

It sad and despicable what has been done and is still being done to indigenous people in the name of “freedom, justice and improvement of our society and communities”. It’s never been about any of those things. It’s always been about greed.

[@PRINTORO]

The usual doublespeak of white men just looking to usurp and steal power. It’s ironic how a Christian nation would commit so many crimes in its own land. This is just another case to show that we put greed over faith and integrity. As an American I am truly disappointed that this is my history. We must do something about it.

[@Opine101]

Cool Laura, so when are you and your white family giving your property and assets over to the natives?

[@SamSung-ww3rp]

Another shameful history that was not in the history books

[@theresamay9481]

And some people want to ban books that make them uncomfortable.

[@Rhiles44]

You can’t cover it all. We just cover the important things. We can’t do a whole class on American atrocities cmon now

[@Saige08]

@@theresamay9481 America The Beautiful, Home of the Brave. America has some sins and crimes to atone for..and it shall. A reckoning is coming to this nation for so many of the atrocities it has committed against many groups of people. This is why some are banning books and trying to keep this and other shameful stories of horrific acts, out of their children's school libraries and curriculum. You can try hard, but you can never keep the truth from being told forever. Kudos for telling this story of the crimes committed against those were were native to this land called America, long before the white settlers and colonizers arrived.

[@2Hearts3]

This is an area of history i never knew, never heard of, and i suspect, most Americans outside of Oklahoma never have. I've recently moved to this state. What I'm learning about what happened here a hundred years ago begins to make sense of the realities visible today that I won't enumerate. It's not pretty. It's repugnant that a country who called itself free could have stood silently by. These people were dumped at the end of the Trail of Tears; and if that weren't bad enough, then were robbed, raped, and pillaged in this place. It's high time for the people of this country-- all of us-- to learn the facts.

[@KylieJonkman]

You can still help those in need and being that bridge you speak off x

[@MrJohnshopkins53]

Bet you also never heard of the Tulsa Massacre of a successful black community around the same time this happened, and yet they called them the savages? funny how that works. I forgive them, can they forgive themselves? you won't if you hide it.

[@janetblack905]

Fabulous book! I hope the movie doesn't disappoint, but I won't hold my breath. Such an incredible and sad story.

[@tompeace7907]

More movies need to be made like this about what was done to the sweet, nature-loving Native Americans. We were lied to in grade school; they covered things up and miseducated us.

[@zaragloade340]

True

[@michellejade3272]

There’s a Leonardo DiCaprio movie about this in theaters right now.

[@JP2GiannaT]

Uh...I think it's incredibly condescending to call them "sweet". There were peaceful tribes, sure, but there were warlike ones too. Look up what the Mohawk and Huron did to the French missionaries who came there. Systematic sustained torture and mutilation of captured priests, not just execution. Look up the history of the Comanche: any success the Texan Spanish mission system had was because the smaller Karankawa tribe saw that their walls offered protection from the Comanche. They didn't just go after invading Europeans, they went after other tribes too. Were Native Americans done dirty by European immigrants? Heck yes. The Reservation system, broken treaties, occasional massacres, and trail of tears all bear witness to that. But it's a gross oversimplification, and an injustice to them, to just label them all "sweet nature lovers". There is a LOT more to the story than that. Just like any other group of human beings, they have a complicated story too.

[@tompeace7907]

@@JP2GiannaT Oh, for goodness sake, i realize that words are limited... so it's silly to say that i did some kind of "injustice" to them. That's ludicrous! Of course, their story is complicated, but they would have been way better off if the Europeans didn't come in and ruthlessly decimate them as they did. They did have vast cooperative cultures, like the Mississippian.

[@danielsaenz1325]

​@@JP2GiannaT agreed. But to your point, missionaries we're some of the most self-interested exploiters out there. They got theirs, sorry I'm not sorry. I think the unmarked graves of thousands of native children and babies demonstrates that very well.

[@user-mn2go7wh8c]

It should be mentioned that the Osage Nation takes care of its own mineral estate today, which is 135k acres.

[@momsterzz]

What happened to all the money?

[@yolondatheodore7694]

So. Why does this area so abandoned today 2023

[@KylieJonkman]

Doesn’t justify what they went through

[@CoolGobyFish]

@@yolondatheodore7694 most of the reservation governments are just as crooked as the rest. it doesn't surprise me.

[@aydennoah3316]

​@@yolondatheodore7694Because most of it today is farm land and cattle pastures.

[@mmps18]

Thank you for writing this book and sharing this important story.

[@scentlessapprentice88]

Superb job telling the story. Martin scorcesse and the actors who portrayed the Osage did an amazing job. Just watched it. I didn't know about the specifics before this movie came out. Now i will never forget.

[@pohanahawaii]

🙏 Fascinating and sad, a story that must be told!

[@louisianarainwater]

Thank you for this🕊🕊🕊

[@blinkzone1]

Wow, what a sad story. I'd also say Black Wall Street was also very tragic in Oklahoma. Just sad..

[@texaswunderkind]

The 1921 Tulsa Massacre was basically in the same time and place. The Osage reservation is on Tulsa's northern border.

[@jordanapolis]

The day before the Tulsa Massacre, 10 white people were killed by a black mob

[@blinkzone1]

@@jordanapolis So what are you saying? Black ppl were the ones responsible for Black Wall Street?

[@iguillo]

This country has a LOT of blood on it's hands. No way can it sit in moral judgement of other nations, as it tries to do repeatedly.

[@texaswunderkind]

I disagree. We should be fighting for human rights both at home and abroad. The slaughter of innocents in Ukraine isn't justifiable just because we mistreated black slaves and native people.

[@iguillo]

@@texaswunderkind I'm not speaking about fighting for rights. What I am referring to is the way the country has made moral judgements on other nations / governments, while our own house is not in order. This still rings true today.

[@TheGhostofTomMetzger]

@@iguillo How could a house be in order when the whole world thinks our house is their home?

[@LMays-cu2hp]

Thank you for sharing.

[@OldFloatingSeaman]

Just watched the film. Great piece of work to finally get this message out. Visited many First Nations, on our road trips, and Osage is now on our next list. Lovely people and love meeting and talking to them.

[@peggygibbons479]

This story has captivated me for years but all we heard was bits & pieces. I can't WAIT to see the movie!!

[@mugglemikki]

The movie is a masterpiece, so well done and accurate. Martin Scorsese is a true master of filmmaking.

[@PomMom700]

Oh my, this is a very sad story. I was initially so happy that they found oil on the land. But, of course, others were devious and cruel and prolifically greedy. I'm so sorry for the Osage folks.

[@pradplpk]

the real horrific history of America...

[@fday1964]

It certainly is a week of historical illumination. I watched The American Buffalo by Ken Burns. Glad that all this history is being brought to the forefront.

[@maryturner6400]

You will reap what you sow

[@michaelfairclough6039]

Congratulations Martin. A brilliant movie.

[@Notmymonkey35]

i read the book a couple of years ago. it was riviting and horrific, but part of history that needs to be told. 😢

[@robertcuratolo5339]

😢 I can't wait to see the movie.

[@teresalegler2777]

Have never heard this story before. So very sad! Greed caused this horrible outcome. No telling how many more innocent Osagans have lost their lives and their ancestors.

[@cmb9993]

Yes! Greed and racism.

[@ruth7603]

Greed and racism. Whites thought they were entitled to the oil wealth, not the Osage.

[@rosierose1167]

2day is Sunday & went to finally see this movie & happy to announce "it was fabulous, loving, serious, beautiful scenery, sad & disturbing & felt her anguish about her love for her husband, but All well worth catching this movie." Fantastic!

[@ccaswick]

After reading this book I SIMPLY COULD NOT BELIEVE we weren't taught about this in high school, such a damn shame.

[@michaelschramm1064]

With all the books I’ve read by now, including this story by David Grann, I can tell you straight up that TONS of events where the Native American tribal nations were disenfranchised was neglected. Starting with the Puritans and King Phillips War in the 1600s

[@ccaswick]

@@michaelschramm1064 it goes back beyond the Bible. Humans treat each other like sh!t.

[@michaelschramm1064]

@@ccaswick Well yes…true. I was referencing the experiences with New World colonists and Native Americans specifically. Even before Miles Standish and the Puritans and Quakers there were the horrible misdeeds leveled at the Caribbean native “Indians” at the hands of Columbus over the course of his four voyages, which involved torture, annihilation, and enslavement. In school we were always taught that colonists attempted to make peace accords, promote trade and foster good will. Talk about sugar coating the truth…

[@teamcougars]

It’s shameful how we aren’t taught this part of American history 😢 we have governors literally removing and destroying this type of history, it’s bad enough that some early Settlers thought owning people and forcing them into servants the mere thought they thought that was ok is repulsive 🤢 enough and then we hear about even more atrocities like this and Im sad and disgusted by some of our settling people 😢 we must not forget history if we do wdo its too easy to repeat our past indistressions😢 It’s past time to boot from office any governor burning and destroying any book that doesn’t tell our children and adults the good, bad and ugly disgusting past so we aren’t doomed to repeat it 😢ENOUGH!!!!!

[@InanaNinsianna]

Wow - imposing setting (at least the shot) for the courthouse. Very ominous. Unfortunately this type of story is all too common. Great piece.

[@JonSmith-zl5wc]

Can't wait to see the movie

[@elirae8476]

I can't wait to read this book!! Started watching interviews from Graham and I can't believe that I never heard about this story!

[@sandygentry8455]

Read the book. Looking forward to the movie.

[@jennyferrios245]

It does not get any clearer than this! Facts plain and simple.

[@CorySpitznagel]

Just watched KOTFM this past weekend and was captivated from beginning to end. The book was phenomenal as well.

[@auntyvenom133]

The Orenda is a fantastic book about the Huron ( & other tribes & their conflicts/ relationships )in the Hudson Bay Area . It’s written by Joseph Boyden, I highly recommend it. It’s told from the perspective of a native war chief, his adopted daughter (whose family he killed in front of her to avenge his wife & daughter’s deaths) & a Jesuit priest sent from France. It’s a powerful story, the kind of book you can read over & over again

[@nopenope9118]

I’m mostly European but I do have a small amount of Native American DNA. I relate so much to that small amount. Through genealogy research I found a story about two of my white ancestors, a father and son, who were tied to trees by native Americans and had their legs chopped off below the knees. I still can’t help but root for the Native Americans in that situation. So many atrocities were committed against them, I’m always happy when I hear about them getting a little bit of revenge, even if it was against my ancestors.

[@girlcheck]

I worked with a wonderful man by the name of John Barry in Trust reform. He lived on his grandmother's original allotment. At the time I believe he was chief of the Quapaw tribe. I learned so much from him. He told me the story of his tribe's origin as dew from an oak tree. I think of him often ❤

[@louise97355]

I read this book, could not put it down. Very disturbing and a travesty of neglect and evil.

[@ellensoucek1914]

This is horrific. I had never heard of this before.

[@chrisbalsamo968]

I saw the movie recently and it was really powerful story. Great acting and the characters were very interesting.

[@mattmedina7903]

Hurts my heart how they use to treat us native Americans they stripped us of are culture language made us cut are hair it was tuff times back then

[@mf568]

Pale face's barbarism, greed & hatred knows no bounds. They'll always reign, because we never stick together when we all share the same oppressors.

[@thechiefwildhorse4651]

Caucasians are failing and starting to eat each other -COMANCHE NATION

[@Whowhatwherewhen5]

🤡

[@leveraged6694]

Great book and a sickening story of greed.

[@christahewitt2758]

I have ancestors who moved from OK to CA during the Great Depression and it makes me wonder if they knew or played any part in this vile history. 😢

[@giovannicherico3837]

Yep. "Make America Great Again!" How about, "Make America Better!"

[@Saige08]

And some of us know exactly what they mean with that slogan.

[@judycasemore2168]

I'm glad the truth is coming out, thankyou to David Grann and the movie " Killers of the Flower Moon "

[@Afak6]

💔💔💔 🥺What a horrific and heat-breaking story. I had no idea. It reminds me of Tulsa/Black Wallstreet. There are so many monumental stories in America’s history that are just buried or never told. These stories must be shared, our kids and younger generations must know or we will continue to make the same mistakes.

[@DAB148]

And it’s history like this that needs to be shared in all classrooms in our America! It’s important to never forget!

[@Rhiles44]

We learn about the trail of tears which was worse. We can’t just hold a whole class on American atrocities.

[@truthpriceless7285]

My heart is broken for these people. They need justice.

[@HugeTinkyWinky]

I like 10 minutes from Osage. Never knew or heard about this in my 25 years of living here.

[@MijuNasu]

One of the most powerful book I ever read, book was amazing the movie will be out this Thursday, I’m sure it is great..

[@natalierullmanward9137]

Im currently 4 hours away. I should visit. I feel tremendous empathy!!!😢😢

[@floridacrackerguitartips6004]

The evil people that did these horrible things in the past are the same evil people that live amongst us today. They never go away; they just wait for the right opportunity.

[@zbaby82]

They won't get away with it forever.

[@jakespivey3716]

Remember hearing this story in an old movie called "The FBI Story" with James Stewart.

[@christhompson3750]

There was another book about this that came out in 1998. It was called The Osage Indian Murders by Lawrence Hogan.

[@wadeadams4263]

Gotta check out the movie

[@EM-mi5yj]

I read the book years ago. It was heartbreaking. I don’t wanna see the movie, it’s like being traumatized twice. But it is a story that needs to be told and this kind of behavior should never happen again. White privilege and greed still exist.

[@JP2GiannaT]

Greed, yes. The powerful taking from the strong, yes. The fact that European descendant people were in the position of political power, yep. I really hate the term "white privilege" because it makes it sound like the rotteness in men's hearts, the crappy bits of us, are just in people of a certain race. They're not. We're all broken inside, to some extent. We're all capable of evil when we see something we want that belongs to someone else. I live in an area that tends to hurl a lot of racist crap towards blacks-- but is demographically primarily Latino. Whites make up about .5% of my hometown. How on earth does the concept of "white privilege" and needing to refute it help anyone where I'm from?

[@more__plz]

This country will never flourish until it confronts its past and heals

[@tomsouzas]

It's an amazing book!

[@debracrespi2690]

I lived in Pawhuska as a tween, and grew up in Oklahoma ,and never knew this story. You hear the trail of tears, but you don't hear about this. It's sad. I am part cherokee , and this story saddens me. I wish I had known.

[@normaburrage8854]

As Eastern Band Cherokee with ancestors who walked the Trail of Tears all of these stories need told Native Americans are the ones for hundreds of years being disrespected AMERICA was our mother land first last and always 😢😢😢😢❤❤❤

[@njbobf]

Excellent book. Must read before or after seeing the movie.

[@rochellesims1361]

Wow!

[@behailuabebe4868]

What a story

[@karenbrown2135]

That is terrible. My mom is from Oklahoma, but not that city.

[@aydennoah3316]

Pawhuska is a small rural town no where close to a city.

[@alancawfield6549]

The book was incredible, one of the best I've ever read and I'd recommend people read it rather than watching the film , as Films are never as good as the books they are based on.

[@carolbenson6524]

Such an excellent but sad movie.

[@deborahfairbanks4012]

Unconscionable.

[@gloriabeltran6522]

I agree with Miguel. I too am Native American. There is so much hate from people who truly believe that what they are doing is Right.

[@lazarusdarkstar3015]

This really angers me because the Indigenous people have been abused time after time!

[@b.visconti1765]

WoW..looks like a film worth viewing even though it will lead to heart ache viewing such greed an evil hopefully long long buried

[@rominalambert3727]

Wow😢