Getty / BettmanThe horrifying death of Rita Smith helped finally trigger a federal investigation into the Osage murders. Many of the crimes were committed by the victims loved ones, especially amongst those in intermarriages. Solving the case was another matter. Then, check out some stunning photos of the Crow Tribe in the early 20th century. The Bureau was new and required good publicity, he thus hoped that the newspaper frenzy surrounding the killing spree would bring in just that. They had servants, many of whom were white,” wrote David Grann, author of Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI. Book Club: Practical Philosophy — 4 — Private life and public culture, Review: The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, What Happened The Day I Traded Social Media For Books, I Never Thought I’d Be Pregnant And Publishing A Memoir During A Pandemic, 5 must-read Haruki Murakami short stories, The Complicated And Painful Legacy Of Dr. Seuss. He grew even greedier in the late 1800s when oil was discovered on the Osage Indian Reservation. Another of the murderers shrugged off his actions by offering the explanation “white people in Oklahoma thought no more of killing an Indian than they did in 1724.”.

The Osage murders is just one (dark) early chapter of the very storied past of the Bureau. He finds many problems with the narrative of the Osage murders as they were resolved in court, and undertakes his own investigation into the facts of the murders. That might have been the end of it, but...just two months later, Anna's mother—Lizzie Q—suspiciously died. Found: In May 1921, the badly decomposed body of Anna Brown—an Osage Native American—in a remote ravine in northern Oklahoma. They could see many things, but they couldn’t always see everything.

Anna (pictured) had no known enemies, and the case went unsolved. Although the local coroner did not have the equipment to perform a toxicology exam, poison was suspected. The depth of reporting and characters in Killers of the Flower Moon is impressive, and its technical brilliance is astounding.

The American public became fascinated by the Osage whom they intolerantly labeled “red millionaires.” Indeed, all of the money in the world could not erase racist stereotypes, as one newspaper wryly stated: “That lament, ‘lo the poor Indian,’ might appropriately be revised to ‘Ho, the rich redskin.”. But less than a day after he arrived in the capital, McBride was stabbed twenty times, a murder described by newspapers as “the most brutal in crime annals in the District.” McBride’s killing was a clear message that white friends to the Osage were not safe either, a fact emphasized when an attorney with a lead on the case was flung from a moving train. The tribe was finally settled in an area spread between present-day Kansas and Oklahoma in 1865. The locals weren't talking. Envy for and racism against the Osage ran deeper than snarky newspaper headlines. Further, not every family received justice in the investigation, but each one did receive a bill for the FBI’s troubles. The horrifying death of Rita Smith helped finally trigger a federal investigation into the Osage murders. The Osage Council and tribal representatives in Washington D.C. Anna Brown was one of the first victims of the Osage killing spree.

The tribe decided to seek help from a higher authority and sent Barney McBride, one of the rare white oilmen who worked to help the Osage rather than to exploit them, as a representative to the capital. Almost overnight, the Osage became incredibly wealthy, earning royalties from oil sales through their federally mandated "head rights.". The agents were able to prove that Hale ordered the murders of Anna and her family to inherit their oil rights...cousin Roan for the insurance...and others who had threatened to expose him. The tribe first encountered Europeans in the form of French fur traders in the late 17th century and initial relations proved beneficial to the Osage. By the early 20th century, the oil rush instigated a flood of intermarriages where white men wanted a taste of the Osage wealth. We have blinders, biases. Directed by Mervyn LeRoy. White soon proved to be more than up to the task. A dedicated FBI agent recalls the agency's battles against the Klan, organized crime and Communist spies. The prize? His experience as a Texas lawman had hardened his nerves and he refused to be intimidated by the deaths of the previous investigators. In 1906, thanks to the clever negotiation skills of Chief Big Heart, Congress ratified the Osage Allotment Act that guaranteed mineral rights of Osage territory to tribe members only, meaning that the now-valuable reservation land could only be inherited, not bought, thus keeping the fortune within the tribe entirely. They finally sent in agents from the newly-created Bureau of Investigation. In May of 1921, the bodies of two tribe members — Anna Brown and Charles Whitehorn — were found in the woods of Osage County. As a result, many Osage became very rich… very quickly. We can only see so much. Then others confessed. Some families instigated their own private investigations, which often ended in the deaths of those involved. I borrowed an audiobook of Killers of the Flower Moon from my local library. If Anna, her mother, and two sisters died—in that order—all of the "head rights" would pass to the nephew...and Hale could take control. They found the system of guardians was grossly corrupted. In May 1921, the badly decomposed body of Anna Brown—an Osage Native American—was found in a remote ravine in northern Oklahoma. Gina Dimuro is a New York-based writer and translator. They both had been shot, but the local law enforcers were largely amateurs not equipped to deal with serious crimes. The theory gained more credence after two more tribe members dropped dead in similarly sketchy circumstances over the next few months. The Osage tribe originally inhabited the area that is today Western Missouri along the Ohio River. This is because he has already outlined the history of the Osage murders as it stood before he undertook this project, but now he is beginning to unravel that same history and reconfigure it all together. The Osage are a Native American tribe that lived in present-day Missouri, Kansas, and my native Arkansas until they were, like others, forcibly relocated to present-day Oklahoma, then called Indian Territory. For instance, Mollie’s husband Ernest was involved in a large conspiracy of murdering the Osage headed by self-titled “King of Osage Hills” William Hale. The Osage murders hasn’t received any attention in the media because the Zionist Media is Illuminati control, and this story is against the Zionist government’s agenda. Murder and Mayhem in the Osage Hills — FBI Submit Search Chief Big Heart ensured that the wealth of the Osage would stay only among tribe members. This is not simply a storytelling flourish, but it is necessary in order to tell the story as it should be told. His weak-willed nephew, Ernest Burkhart, was married to Anna's sister. But even once brought to justice, many of the perpetrators were released by a corrupted jury. They went undercover as an insurance salesman, cattle buyer, oil prospector, and herbal doctor to turn up evidence. The investigations went nowhere, but the killings did not stop. I won’t divulge that information, but I will tell you that it should shake your faith in history and humanity. One by one, at least two dozen people in the area inexplicably turned up dead. Anna’s sister, Mollie, was once such Osage who had married a white man named Ernest Burkhart. He consequently sent former Texas Ranger Tom White to head the investigation. Not just Osage Indians, but a well known oilman and others. The wealth that had saved the Osage from starvation had also damned the tribe because of the immense avarice amongst white settlers who surrounded them. Then, in March 1923, Anna's sister and brother-in-law were killed when their home was bombed. There were many who were silent, including law enforcement, reporters, and members of the community, who allowed the murders to prevail. Half a million dollars a year or more. The Department of Justice could no longer turn a blind eye to the systematic murder of the Osage, dubbed the “bloodiest chapter in American crime history.”. Next, read about Chief Big Heart’s granddaughter, Maria Tallchief, who became a world-famous ballerina. It truly is one of the best books of its kind, and I am happy to read more of David Grann if it reaches the heights of this narrative.

Library of CongressA pair of Osage women in 1921.

In exchange for hunting animal pelts, they received guns and powder from the French, which in turn allowed the Osage to become the most powerful tribe in the region. They are at the same time well-proportioned in their limbs and good-looking.”. The tribe was relocated yet again to Oklahoma, where the Osage Nation is still today. The answer: all federal historical documents created in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. It is retrospective on how we treat other humans, the dangers of a culture that hates those unlike them, and a case study in how history (for reasons known and unknown) sometimes needs a second look. The fortunes of the Osage began to change with the Louisiana Purchase and the arrival of American settlers. As one chief remarked in 1928, “Some day this oil will go and there will be no more fat checks every few months….then I know my people will be happier.”. In May 1921, the badly decomposed body of Anna Brown—an Osage Native American—was found in a remote ravine in northern Oklahoma. He shows the harm that can be caused when racial and economic strife run rampant. FBI.gov is an official site of the U.S. government, U.S. Department of Justice. These results unmistakably include the envy and distrust of white Americans in Oklahoma and elsewhere, and that is the heart of Killers of the Flower Moon. But, while billed as a murder mystery for good reason, the depth of Killers of the Flower Moon lies in its perspective on history. They were a formidable people, as painter George Caitlin once described them as “at their full growth, . Getty / BettmannAnna Brown was one of the first victims of the Osage killing spree. . However, the rocky land onto which the Osage had been pushed held a tremendous secret: beneath the supposedly worthless soil lay “some of the largest oil deposits in the United States.”. The Osage Reign Of Terror: How A Bigoted Conspiracy Against The Native Americans Led To The FBI’s First Case. Who was behind all the murders? However, what happens next takes it to a higher level. Then, as the land given to them was found to contain large reserves of oil, the Osage were thankfully not simply moved somewhere else but they were given a cut of the money made from said oil. Three of the dozens of Osage tribe members who were killed in a vicious plot for oil wealth. That's what the terrorized community wanted to find out. Library of CongressAn Osage camp in Oklahoma. You Could Face Jail Time For Leaving Your Dog Out In The Cold, Per New Law, Jim Hutton: The Story Of Freddie Mercury's Longtime Partner, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. Since the discovery of large oil deposits beneath the land of Osage Native Americans in Oklahoma, the tribe had become some of the wealthiest people in the world. One Osage World War I veteran said, “I fought in France for this country, and yet I am not even allowed to sign my own checks.”. And, Zionism is about lies, commercialism, and capitalism for profit. If you are a reader of history or true crime and it’s not on your reading list, it should be. .

ND-98: Case of the Long Island Double Agent, International Cyber Ring That Infected Millions of Computers Dismantled. Two years later, her cousin Henry Roan was shot to death. A local cattleman, Hale had bribed, intimidated, lied, and stolen his way to wealth and power. The “Osage Reign of Terror” saw the deaths of at least 24 Osage.