Sunday, July 30, 2017

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann, 338 pages.
When oil was discovered on land that had been ceded to the Osage tribe after they had been forced off the much larger area they had previously held members of the tribe became very rich. Fortunately for the members of the tribe, mineral rights had been part of the treaty they had signed. Unfortunately, the courts had appointed white guardians to "protect" the Osage and their fortunes. In the early 1920s, over the course of a couple of years, several Osage tribe members were murdered. Some of their allies and some investigators were murdered as well. Grann does an excellent job of recounting the events, the investigations, and the trials. He also points the finger at several members of the community who were not indicted. A fascinating read about an entire community seemingly willing to murder their neighbors because of their race and their property. Narrated by Will Patton, Ann Marie Lee, and Danny Campbell.

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