Killers of the Flower Moon

KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON BY DAVID GRANN

Here is another book I saw offered on an eBook list. I was attracted to it by “the birth of the FBI” and was interested in learning more about it. I have always had an interest in true crime stories. I got a lot more than I bargained for. In the 1920s, there was a mass murder of Osage indigenous people in Oklahoma. When I began reading, I thought I was going to be in for another very heavy book as I learned things I never knew before.

I knew that indigenous people were cheated out of and forced off their land. The Osage people in Oklahoma were no exception. They were given what was thought to be a crappy area but turned out to be a place that made them millionaires. They’d been given a massive oil field to live on and once the oil was discovered, they began leasing to drillers. They began to receive large incomes from the successes of the oil wells. Of course, the success of the oil wells drew all kinds of people to the area, good and bad.

It wasn’t too long before some began to be annoyed at Osage prosperity and began to scheme ways of cheating them out of their royalties. Some of the plots were so soulless it would chill your blood to read about them. Most of the time, a white would marry an Osage and in this way would gain control by becoming a guardian to his or her spouse’s royalties. That happened because another way the Osage would be deprived of their rights was to declare them incompetent, incapable of managing their finances. That was true no matter how educated they were.

In the early 1920s, several Osage were murdered. Many others began dying mysteriously of sudden illnesses. Local authorities didn’t seem particularly interested in investigating and so the tribe appealed to the newly formed Bureau of Investigation. The first investigators weren’t successful, meeting several dead ends and blockades. The director was replaced with a young J. Edgar Hoover, who decided to assign a former Texas Ranger, Tom White, to the case. Instead of choosing among the newer agents, White picked a team of characters who would blend in well with the community in and around the oil wells.

What they alone learned about the cold-blooded plot to murder Osage for their leases and royalties should horrify you. What the author learned on his own conducting his own research years later will increase it. I did appreciate reading the book, learning more history that was never taught in school. Grann’s writing style is compelling and keeps the pages turning. It’s also very emotionally gut wrenching so time is needed sometimes to process it all.

I definitely would recommend the book but, again, it’s not for the faint hearted.

The above is what I wrote for Good Reads and a book group I belong to on FaceBook.  I had a lot of extra thoughts that I'll share here.

First of all, this is another reason we need to have CRT in schools.  Despite what the Rethugs claim, it isn't in the curriculum at public schools and now colleges in some states are afraid to offer thoughtful true-history courses.  I was out of high school before I learned a lot of our sorry history, like how indigenous people were cheated of their land.  Where did I learn it? From James Michener's book, Centennial , and from the TV series of the same name.

As happened with Roots, it was absolutely gut twisting to learn how abominably and cruelly whites treated people of color whether they be Black, Hispanic or Native American.  All of these people have had their rights trampled, their dignity and freedom decimated, and have suffered as a result for years and years.

I don't think it's going to irreparably harm a white child's self-esteem to learn the truth about our history instead of a white-washed version.  Sure, it might make the child uncomfortable and squirm, but shouldn't we all?  This is the kind of behavior that the so-called "Christian" nationalists support: a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant America, just like "the good old days."  Pardon me while I puke.

Do you think not?  Why not start with this.  Then research what red states are doing to disenfranchise the votes of people of color.

This has all happened before.  We silly believers in equality thought all of that was addressed well in the last 50-60 years.  I don't think we of that generation ever thought it could all be undone, just as even more of us ever thought it would be possible for a President to so betray our country.

Pay attention.  Those who pay attention to history note that it keeps repeating itself because too many have their heads in ostrich holes.

Added on: I just learned that Martin Scorsese will be directing a Film version of the book.  It will start Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro.  I want to see it for sure 👍