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| Filming on the set of Killers of the Flower Moon (Photo courtesy of Shannon Shaw Duty, Osage News via ICJ) |
The story of Oklahoma's Osage Nation is one of prosperity, greed, conspiracy, murder and loss. Its retelling in Martin Scorsese's new film Killers of the Flower Moon gives voice to that past. But even as audiences flock to the theaters, what does the Osage Nation have to show for their willingness to share their story of a people murdered for their land?
Dennis McAuliffe Jr., an Osage tribal member and Washington Post Opinions copy editor, shares his answer to that question in his Opinion essay condensed here. His thoughts are penned from Fairfax, Oklahoma.
"Joe Conner, my cousin and closest friend, created a memorial to victims of the 'Osage Reign of Terror' about two years ago. In 10 panels illustrated with archival and family pictures, he described what came before and after the murders of possibly hundreds of Osages after one of the largest oil deposits in the United States was found on their land. Because each tribal member, including children, received an equal share of royalties, the Osage had become the richest people per capita in the world.
"Joe installed the posters in the storefront of the long-abandoned Tall Chief Theater in Fairfax, the reservation town where most of the murders took place. The potential viewers he had in mind included Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and a crew of hundreds who were there to film scenes for 'Killers of the Flower Moon' — an Apple Original movie about the killings based on David Grann’s book of the same name.
"Joe, a PhD psychologist, health researcher, local newspaper publisher and co-director of the Fairfax Community Foundation, hoped his posters would engage visitors in his mission to 'rebuild Fairfax and restore hope to our left-behind community … [which] today languishes in neglect and dereliction. . . . The restored theater would become a performing arts and event center; an adjoining former bank building would house a museum, restaurant, gift shop, art gallery, studio and, as Joe put it, a memorial 'that not only would honor what happened but serve as a venue for healing.'
"All it would take, architects told him, was $8 million, and work would begin with replacing the theater roof, four stories above the stage, which had been blown off by a tornado in 2018. . . . Enter Apple, Scorsese and the rest of the crew: Between April and October of 2021, they spent weeks filming around Fairfax, including a location not 50 yards from the Tall Chief. . . . Theater people would certainly take an interest in saving a historic theater — and could afford to. Combined, the cast and crew stood to make tens of millions of dollars. (DiCaprio was reportedly paid $25 million to $30 million.) Surely there was an angel investor in their midst.
"But what do moviemakers owe a community that they use and profit from? Not specific individuals but the community as a whole? Fairfax, which provided the tragic story without which no movie would have been made, was about to find out. . . . As the Hollywood crew finished filming, Joe wrote: 'It seems the movie will be another example of outsiders, even if well-intentioned, taking something from the Osage people for personal gain and leaving the community with nothing but movie images.'
McAuliffe Jr. has a personal connection to this story. Read the entire piece here.
For more on the Osage Nation's story and its broader impact on U.S. law enforcement, read
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