Opinion: What does Martin Scorses's new film give back to the Osage Nation?

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 Erin Blakemore's story in National Geographic here.

For more insight on the film, go to ICJ's review. ICJ is an independent, nonprofit news enterprise from IndiJ Public Media that honors their ancestors and future generations through stories that make Indigenous peoples come alive.

Finally-Friday quick hits: Salt-rising bread; guns become garden tools; sticky notes give hope; take home the cheese

Salt-rising bread (Photo from Garden & Gun)

The dough smells akin to gym socks, but it makes excellent toast. What is this Appalachian favorite? Salt-rising bread. After a tough week, it's good to remember from sea to shining sea toast is one of America's simplest, most versatile comfort foods. People in Maine have ideas on how to eat it. The Washington Post has recommendations on how to turn it into a meal. It even has its own song.

Nobody wants to be known for infamy -- or do they? "In the small city of LaGrange, Texas, with a population of just over 4,000 people, huge antique shows and a charitable bike ride draw many visitors every year," reports Keith Roysdon of The Daily Yonder. "But it's possible the infamous Chicken Ranch, reportedly the last brothel in Texas when it closed in 1973, generates more frank curiosity about LaGrange than more mainstream gatherings. . . . Unlike some cities and towns with a 'notorious attraction,' LaGrange leans into the history of the Chicken Ranch." It's just one example of what the Yonder calls "Tourism of Infamy."

Summer is here, and "a host of festivals are producing eclectic work — from Oregon to Appalachia. Want to embrace the summer heat? You'll find plenty of opportunities to take in theater under the stars. Looking to escape it? There are chances to catch world-premiere plays and reimagined revivals in the comforts of air conditioning," reports Thomas Floyd of The Washington Post. "So peruse our picks and consider a summertime venture to a theater near you — or perhaps a pilgrimage to one that's not."

The cheese rolls away. (Photo by Annabel Lee-Ellis, Getty via The Atlantic)

Folks across the pond in Gloucester, England, had a jolly time gathering at a farm "for the annual Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake, continuing a tradition that dates back at least 200 years," reports Alan Taylor of The Atlantic. "Participants chase a nine-pound wheel of Double Gloucester cheese down an extremely steep and uneven hill—with no police or paramedics on site this year. The winner of the race gets to take home the cheese."

Planting a summer garden can be an intentional act of hope. The garden need not be perfect to produce veggies and joy. "Last month, we planted our garden. It's small and kind of awkward, and I'm still not sure if the spot we picked gets enough sun. Nevertheless, it's planted with hopes of big, juicy tomatoes and lush bushes of green beans," writes Betty Haynes of Prairie Farmer. "We've also spent the month planting flowers. . . . Some already look beautiful, and if I'm being honest, some have already withered away and died. Nevertheless, they're planted, and those that do thrive bring a smile to my face."

Turning guns into a garden tools is starting to catch on as one way to combat violence. "In 2016, we were introduced to a group, Raw Tools, which started this concept. It was developed by a Mennonite father and son," recalls retired Bishop Jim Curry for "The Rural We" in Rural Intelligence, a largely online publication in the Hudson River highlands. "After Sandy Hook, they started inviting people to disarm their weapons, then make them into different gardening tools using blacksmithing techniques. We started talking with police departments around Connecticut, and invited leaders in this movement to New Haven. I learned as much as I could about blacksmithing and began raising money to get the equipment and co-created Swords to Plowshares."

Maddy Barnes places notes of encouragement in the
girls' restroom. (Aurora News-Register photo)

Life can be tough, but we can help each other along the way, "Maddy Barnes, a custodian at Aurora High School, is not that many years out of high school herself, so she knows the importance of an encouraging word to teenagers," reports Ron Burtz of the Aurora News-Register. "This past school year, she has found an unconventional way to connect with the students she sees in the halls every day through notes of encouragement written on sticky notes. Her strategy has been so successful that students and staff have not only kept the notes she leaves in places like the restrooms, but have in some cases left similar messages for her and others."

Quick hits: local investors saved two rural California papers; report showcases rural economic success stories

Here's a roundup of stories with rural resonance; if you do or see similar work that should be shared on The Rural Blog, email us at heather.chapman@uky.edu.

Local investors saved one rural California paper and then bought another. Read more here.

After the Trump administration relocated the Bureau of Land Management headquarters out West, more than 87 percent of the headquarters employees quit rather than move. Read more here.

A proposed bill aims to make sure rural critical-access hospitals are able to maintain that status to maintain access to higher Medicare reimbursements and special grant programs. Read more here.

Rural hospital closures not only hurt patients' ability to access health care, but also result in fewer providers and poorer health outcomes, according to a recent Government Accountability Office report. Read more here.

A report shows how three rural areas leaned on their strengths to survive and thrive. Read more here.

Dairy consumption is up during the pandemic. Read more here.

Data from the past three presidential elections in the Sun Belt and the Frost Belt states illustrates the widening rural-urban political gap. Read more here.

Rural communities are getting nationwide attention, but what should they do with it? Read more here.

Amazon employees in a town near Birmingham, Ala., are trying to unionize. Read more here.

While U.S. agricultural exports rose in the second half of 2020, mounting evidence suggests shipping companies are sending empty containers back to China instead of loading them up with American ag products. Read more here.

Burn Awareness Week is next week; here are some tips for parents and kids on how to stay safe around the home and the farm. Read more here.

A new non-fiction book, Big White Ghetto, takes a fairly unsympathetic tour of impoverished areas in the U.S., including many rural locales. Read more here.

An Obama fellow wants to boost the arts in small towns through theater. Read more here.

The pandemic is hurting the availability of child care, and parents are paying the price. Read more here.

Appalshop arts-and-culture co-op is spotlighted in first installment of new PBS NewsHour series on U.S. artists

Ada Smith of Appalshop (PBS image)

PBS NewsHour began its new "American Creators" series, "taking us to all corners of the country to see artists at work," Friday night with a long profile of Appalshop, the arts-and-culture cooperative based in Whitesburg, Ky., near the Virginia border, in the depressed Central Appalachian coalfield. Jeffrey Brown's eight-and-a-half minute report is hard to reduce to a blog post, but the essential quotes probably came from Ada Smith, who raises money and acts as a spokeswoman: "There’s been a long history of only seeing rural communities and economies as places to take from, and not places to invest in." Brown asks, "And Appalshop says otherwise, huh?" Smith laughs and replies, "Yes. We feel like there’s a lot of wealth and talent and ideas that need to be given a chance."

Herb E. Smith, Ada's father and an Appalshop filmmaker (PBS)

That's a sharp summation of Appalshop, now in its 50th year. Started with a War on Poverty grant as the Appalachian Film Workshop, it soon expanded into other arts and cultural pursuits, started a radio station, a Roadside Theater and film-making workshops for young people, and recently expanded into economic development.

Smith's father, Appalshop filmmaker Herb E. Smith, recalls, his voice breaking, how fewer than 50 of Whitesburg High School's 1970 graduating class remained in Letcher County by that fall "with no hopes of ever returning. Generations of people, thousands and millions of people leave mining areas, and the people who remain miss them. Miss them bad." Appalshop "was a way to be a part of the solution, and to kind of understand the place that we were a part of."

Appalshop has helped build a regional support network to encourage economic development, "with more than a dozen businesses and organizations in the area," Brown reports. When Gwen Johnson's Hemphill Community Center was in danger of closing because of a decline in coal taxes, "with encouragement and support from Appalshop, including $5,000 in seed money, Johnson was able to start a catering company to help pay the bills," and it hires inmates from the local drug court. Johnson said of Appalshop, "They’re friends who kind of stepped up to the plate and began to think outside the box, and sometimes they think bigger than some of us have ever been allowed to think."

Documentary Farmland available for free on Hulu

The documentary "Farmland," which was released in theaters in May, is available for free during the next four weeks on Hulu and Hulu Plus, reports Agri-Pulse, a Washington newsletter. The film "takes the viewer inside the world of farming for a first-hand glimpse into the lives of six young farmers and ranchers in their twenties. Through the personal stories of these farmers and ranchers, viewers learn about their high-risk, high-reward jobs and passion for a way of life that has been passed down from generation to generation, yet continues to evolve."

Filmmaker James Moll said, "This is a film for anyone who eats. It's not what you'd expect. The world of farming is complex and often controversial, but the farmers themselves are some of the most hard-working and fascinating people I've ever met." (Read more)

'Farmland,' a movie about young farmers, aimed to improve farming's image, makes formal debut today

A documentary being released today in theaters follows the daily lives of six farmers and ranchers in their 20s. It is funded by the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance, which was created to improve the public image of agriculture. The movie lets viewers "step inside the world of farming for a first-hand glimpse into the lives of young farmers and ranchers," says its website. "Learn about their high-risk/high reward jobs and passion for a way of life that has been passed down from generation to generation, yet continues to evolve." (Read more)

"The footage doesn’t foster any idyllic stereotypes; it captures real-world farm frustrations, joys and fears, dirt and mud and manure and all," writes Farm and Dairy Editor Susan Crowell. "More than anything, I’m hoping enough non-farm viewers see Farmland to realize some very simple truths: Farmers care about their land and livestock and crops. Deeply. This life is not easy. It’s hard work, with long hours. And no matter how hard you work, you’re still at the mercy of the weather and the markets. This life is not easy." (Read more)

One of the farmers profiled, Margaret Schlass of Marshall, Pa., said the documentary "shows her as 'a young person in the community, trying to do something good …. and trying to build something from the ground up, that positively impacts the community,'" Deborah Deasy reports for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Schlass, who sells certified naturally grown vegetables, told Deasy, “That's why I did the film, so that people could see a first-generation farmer farming, and how hard it is, and all the struggles that they have to endure." (Read more)

"This is an important film for each of us in agriculture to see," LaVell Winsor writes for Farm Futures. "Equally important as it is for you to see the film is for you to take a friend who may not have a farm background. Discussing this film is a great way to open dialogue about what you do on your farm and how your farm fits into the food chain. . . . The most striking is to see the reaction to the film and get the questions and the comments about what they didn't understand about agriculture, and how they're more at ease with livestock production," Winsor writes. "One of the most powerful moments in the film is listening to how these young producers care for their animals; so much of the time that's misrepresented in the mass media." (Read more)

A review of the film will appear later.

Smithsonian magazine releases its annual list of 20 best American small towns to visit

Smithsonian magazine announced its third annual list of America's Best Small Towns to visit, concentrating this year on towns with fewer than 15,000 residents that have "particular strengths in history, music, visual arts, learning, food, theater and science," according to the magazine. "It's not solitude we're seeking—the fruits of human creativity are best shared—but, rather, enrichments unbothered by the growl of our increasingly urban lives." (Photo of Woods Hole, Mass., by Marianne Campolongo)

The 20 towns are: Chautauqua, N.Y.; Healdsburg, Calif.; Williamsburg, Va.; Steamboat Springs, Colo.; Woods Hole, Mass.; Marietta, Ohio; Beaufort, S.C.; Sedona, Ariz.; Nebraska City, Neb.; Lanesboro, Minn.; Spring Green, Wis.; Havre de Grace, Md.; Columbia, Pa.; Mount Dora, Fla.; Ketchum, Idaho; Montpelier, Vt.; Harrodsburg, Ky.; Silver City, N.M.; Decorah, Iowa; and The Dalles, Ore. (Read more)

Digital conversion endangers rural theaters; Colorado using grants, fundraising to help owners

More and more multiplexes seem to be opening, some featuring 20 or more screens, IMAX capability, stadium seating, and concession stands that offer restaurant-quality goods.  Most rural theaters can't compete with all that, but still hold a charm that harkens back to the old days when going to the movies was an event and the theater was an important local gathering place. But as we have noted before, the future of rural theaters is in jeopardy. (Kickstarter photo: The Rogers City Theater in Rogers City, Mich., has started a campaign to raise money to convert to digital)

"By the end of this year, an industry-mandated conversion to digital projectors will make it nearly impossible for many small, one or two-screen theaters in isolated towns across America to continue to operate," Stephanie Garlock reports for The Atlantic Cities. Digital-only benefits movie studios, because "the picture is generally clearer, and, more significantly, the financial and logistical costs of distribution are radically lower. A single copy of a 35mm feature film costs studios upwards of $1,500, while copies on digital hard drives run at about a tenth of that, with prices falling fast. Eventually, satellite transmission could make getting first-run films to theaters across the globe virtually hassle-free."

But the cost to theater owners is great, coming in at an estimated $50,000 per screen, Garlock writes. And if theaters don't convert, they won't get any first-run features, limiting them to small, independent films and older movies. As many as 20 percent of theaters, many of them in rural areas, are in danger of closing, because they can't afford to convert to digital. (Read more)

Colorado has a plan to save its rural theaters. State grants have awarded $200,000 to help save 13 rural theaters -- many of which only have one screen -- and officials hope a fundraising campaign will give the owners enough to pay for the rest of the conversions, Bente Birkeland reports for public radio station KUNC.

"It’s unusual for the state to give out grants to this type of mom and pop business, but government officials say it's not just about the theaters. It’s about preserving rural downtowns and the communities themselves," Birkleand reports. Jeff Kraft, state director of business funding and incentives, told her, “We’re able to use some of our incentive funds to make an existing business go over a onetime transition obstacle. All of them are really central to having a vital downtown experience in their communities. And they help make it more attractive to workers and business.” (Birkeland photo: The Sands in Brush, Colo., received a $20,000 grant, but needs another $30,000 to convert to digital)

Downtown Colorado Inc., "a statewide non-profit focusing on building vibrant commercial areas, is also helping theater owners who aren’t used to fundraising," with a campaign called Save Our Screens, Birkeland writes. The idea is to "engage theater owners in regular conference calls to address issues and questions, and develop training for fundraising, technology, and ownership models," according to Downtown Colorado. The group is also using case studies, by "collecting stories of theaters that have converted to identify best practices." According to Downtown Colorado, 58 percent of the state's theaters have converted to digital, 13 percent are in the process of converting, 26 percent have not converted, and 3 percent of theaters have closed. (Read more)

Play uses painting as partial metaphor for print journalism, which still thrives in small towns

The importance of small-town newspapers has been brought to the stage by the University of Wyoming's Snowy Range Summer Theatre, which in July will present "Waiting for a Chinook," a play based on a painting of the same name by Charles Russell (1864-1926) who painted landscapes mostly set in the western U.S. The painting depicts a starving and beaten steer standing in the snow in the winter of 1886-87 while wolves wait and the steer hopes for a chinook, a warm wind off the mountains that will melt the snow and expose pasture. (Painting from charlesrussell.org)

"In the wake of the drastic declines suffered by metro daily newspapers in 2008," the play "follows Vince, a disillusioned city reporter, who returns to his boyhood Western town to search for place and meaning in the writings of his late father, Cliff, a Wyoming country editor," reports the twice-weekly Cody Enterprise.

The play was written as a fictional memoir by Gregory Hinton, who grew up in Cody, 350 miles from the university in Laramie, and was the son of G.C. “Kip” Hinton, a prize-winning photojournalist and editor of the Enterprise in 1956-62. Hinton said, “It was irresistible not to compare the Russell watercolor – essentially a political cartoon – to the decline in print journalism. The daily reporter just might be the 21st century version of Willy Loman in Arthur Miller’s 'Death of a Salesman.' So many newspapers have stopped their presses, with thousands of newspaper jobs lost and never to return.” (About 130 of the more than 8,000 paid-circulation newspapers in the U.S. have ceased opublication since 2008.)

Jim Hicks, retired editor/publisher of the Buffalo Bulletin, told the Enterprise that communities without hometown papers are communities without souls, and that community papers have repeatedly disproven forecasts of doom. “Expansion of radio into small towns was going to kill the community newspaper," Hicks said. "Then television was the death call for the little paper, and now it’s the Internet in all its forms of personal communication. But, somehow, objective reporting and journalism ethics keep the printed word afloat in most of these towns and villages. Citizens recognize they have no substitute for an effective watchdog of local government than their hometown paper." (Read more)