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In the early 20th century, the Osage Indians in Oklahoma were incredibly wealthy; when the U.S. government had moved them yet again to less-desirable land, they wisely made sure the contract accompanying the relocation included their rights to any minerals beneath the land. When oil was struck, each Osage was granted a large regular income thanks to the sales. Many built mansions, owned multiple cars, and employed servants.
That incredible wealth, however, attracted danger. One Osage woman in particular, Mollie Burkhart, saw several immediate family members murdered in quick succession: a sister was shot and her mother was poisoned. Another sister and her husband were killed. And more and more wealthy Osage were murdered in different ways.
Various law enforcement officials were called in to investigate the murders, and they themselves got killed. In 1920s Oklahoma, the Wild West was not yet in the past; thieves and gangs still instilled terror, and rich oilmen and ranchers either were government officials or were controlling them. Graft and corruption were rampant. So as months and then years passed without any progress being made on the increasing numbers of Osage murders, the federal government was brought in. It was the early days of the FBI, when it was simply called the Bureau of Investigation and J. Edgar Hoover was an ambitious young leader. Hoover enlisted Tom White, a former Texas Ranger, to head the investigation, and White then quietly put together a trusted undercover team to come in and root out the evildoers. Together with Mollie and other Osage, they fought against the graft that was rampant in every layer of life in the area and sifted through every tiny bit of information they could acquire. Eventually, White and his team finally exposed a broad conspiracy that would stop at nothing to take away the oil rights and money of the Osage.
Before reading Killers of the Flower Moon, I had never heard about any of these events; I didn’t know about the Osage and their oil wealth or about the dozens of murders in their communities. Reading about how they were taken advantage of by the government at various levels, by those who were supposed to be their friends and protectors, and even by family, was shocking and dismaying. It was tragic on many levels. It was, however, satisfying to read about the dedication and tenacity of not just the Osage themselves but of outsiders like Tom White who fought to dig up the truth and finally succeeded.
David Grann’s book is thoroughly and painstakingly researched and brings to light an important part of history that I dare say many Americans today are ignorant of. He does excellent reporting and puts together a compelling true-crime narrative.
Rated: Moderate. There are two uses of moderate profanity, about 20 instances of mild language, and one use of the name of Deity in vain. Sexual content is limited to mentions of some people having affairs. Violence in the book includes a brief description of each murder that occurred; some were poisonings, some execution-style shootings. There are some details about the appearances of bodies that were discovered and about findings of coroners’ reports.
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