They were driven off their lands. These were crimes committed by people who the victims trusted, many cases thought they loved, and it involved a level of betrayal, an almost Shakespearean level of dishonesty of hiding your face, hiding the conspiracy. And evidence later surfaced that she had been poisoned. This is in the 1920s. why does my poop smell different after covid / who sings as rosita in sing / how many osage murders might there possibly have been? DAVIES: And, you know, when you speak to these surviving members of the Osage Nation and you see the pain that they still feel generations later from this - the series of crimes, and when you think about how many white people were complicit in it, it makes me think there's another book to be done about descendants of white people and what stories their grandparents might have told them because surely some told stories and surely some felt some guilt about it. Osage in automobile. how many osage murders might there possibly have been? These images belie long-standing stereotypes of Native Americans that trace back to the first contact with whites, Grann tells HISTORY. He got documents from him. The Osage trusted him. But with the arrest of William K. Hale it all stopped. It was, he said, about how, in early 1920s, swaths of the Osage Nation, in Oklahoma, were systematically slaughtered. He changed his plea to guilty and asked to be sentenced to life imprisonment rather than receive the death penalty. [5] The headrights could be inherited by legal heirs, including non-Osage. People began to look for him. Combine these these terms with the event or person you are researching. And gradually, a lot of the oil was depleted. GRANN: So her family becomes a prime target of a conspiracy. "The Great Depression had wiped out many Osage fortunes that had already been diminished by guardians and thieves. Its a system rooted in racism, done under the pretense of enlightenment that the Osage needed protection, Grann says. 6. His work has appeared in numerous publications, including The Boston Globe, The New York Times, and National Geographic Traveler. GROSS: We're listening to the interview FRESH AIR's Dave Davies recorded with David Grann about his new book "The Flower Moon: The Osage Murders And The Birth Of The FBI" (ph). There is no way to tell how many of more than 1, 500 people executed in the U.S. since 1976 may have been innocent. The governor quickly pardons him, and then he goes and commits an unrelated murder. It was a very fledgling period with federal law enforcement. Between 1920 and 1925 there were more than 60 mysterious or unsolved murders in Osage County, all dealing with Osage headright holders. He went to Oklahoma City to meet with this Osage Indian who was dying of suspected poisoning. The oil boom was in full swing, and the Osage people were prosperous due to ownership of mineral rights. how many osage murders might there possibly have been?does checkers use peanut oil how many osage murders might there possibly have been? On February 6, 1923, Henry Roan, another cousin of Brown's (also known as Henry Roan Horse), was found in his car on the Osage Reservation, dead from a shot in the head. 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. "[5] Most murders of the Osage during the early 1920s went unsolved. More than two dozen members of the Osage tribe had been shot, stabbed, beaten and bombed in one of the bloodiest crime sprees in American history. What happened there? The story of the Osage people should have been one of triumph over . Osage is a tribe in North America who suffered deeply on the hands of greedy people. DAVIES: And one of the questions that occurred to me as I read this was it was so remarkable that so many of these men would target Osage women, that so many of these Osage women were open to these relationships and trusted these men. And it's a very vibrant nation. They resettled there. It's about the size of Delaware. You want to pick one, tell us about it? It makes your whole body convulse as if with electricity. . So there were only about 2,000 Osage who were registered on the tribal roll. These are just the murders we're talking about now in Mollie Burkhart's family. The violence befalling the Osage tribe is escalating in a show of force and dominance. And the white man won't be able to farm there, and they'll finally leave us alone. Investigators soon discovered that Mollie was already being poisoned.[13]. how many osage murders might there possibly have been? They involve morticians who would then cover up the crimes. There were so many willing executioners. nycha employment verification. Some murders seemed associated with several members of one family. Menu does allegiant fly to dallas texas. On May 27, 1921, the partially decomposed body of a 25-year-old Osage woman named Anna Brown was discovered in a ravine in Osage County, Oklahoma, dead from a bullet to the back of the head. Best-selling author David Grann talks about his new book that details one of the most chilling murder conspiracies in American history and the FBIs first major homicide case. Photo: Tyson Luneau In the 1920s, the Osage had become the wealthiest people per capita in the world following the discovery of oil on their lands. She was born in the 1880s, growing up in a lodge, practicing Osage tradition, speaking Osage. How did whites in Oklahoma react to seeing Native Americans with all that money? He's then arrested. Of course, this was an easier way for settlers - white settlers - to get their land. Did intermarriage among the Osage tribe and whites increase as this happened? It was said at the time whereas as one American might own a car, each Osage owned 11 cars. GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. So one of the things that happened back then because - you know, we think of ourself as a country of laws, but these institutions back in the '20s in the United States were very fragile. Now, you have to remember this in the 1920s, and the period of Great Gatsby. Methodical, incorruptible and fearless, White put together a team that, having eliminated all alternative explanations, concluded the Osage killings were directed by Ernest Burkhart's uncle, William Hale, a wealthy rancher known as "the King of the Osage Hills", who had tried to cash in a $25,000 life insurance policy on Henry Roan. In the 1800s, President Thomas Jefferson referred to them as that great nation and promised to treat them as their friends. GRANN: Yes. But the typical sheriff back then had no training in scientific detection, and there was also a great deal of corruption back then. DAVIES: So Hoover personally selects this former Texas Ranger Tom White to lead the investigation into the Osage murders, and White assembles an interesting team to help him. . Do you have any insight into that? White oil men are blowing fortunes and going bankrupt. GRANN: What they begin to discover is that there is a enormous criminal enterprise to swindle Osage money and that the system of guardians, for example, these white men - they were always men, usually men, often prominent members of society, they were lawmen, prosecutors, businessmen, bankers - were systematically stealing and skimming from the Osage money. But with the arrest of William K. Hale it all stopped. (Credit: David Grann), The Osage became the richest people per capita in the world. "Osage Reign of Terror. One of the most prevalent means of murder and of killing the Osage was poison because of the lack of training. Screen Printing and Embroidery for clothing and accessories, as well as Technical Screenprinting, Overlays, and Labels for industrial and commercial applications [17][h], In the case of the Smith murders, Ernest was soon convinced that even his wife's money and his uncle's political influence could not save him. He was sometimes called "Will". In some instances, white settlers even married their marks to legally become the next of kin before murdering their spouses. [1] McAuliffe learned that his grandmother's murder had been covered up by a false death certificate. [3][4] This was after a major class-action suit had been filed against the departments of Interior and Treasury in 1996 by Elouise Cobell (Blackfeet) on behalf of other Native Americans, for similar reasons. So the Osage purchased this land. "With the help of independent producers, Dan Bigbee and Lily Shangreaux, we were . But then it continually grew. GRANN: So - yeah. A week later, Anna Brown's body is found in a ravine. 0. what episode does buck and eddie kiss south whittier school district board meeting. Thirteen other deaths of full-blooded Osage men and women, who had guardians appointed by the courts, occurred between 1921 and 1923. FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. We'll continue our conversation after a short break. He then called the local sheriff and said, I've got enough evidence against one of the killers. 338 pp. And one day in 1921, her sister, Anna Brown, disappears, and Mollie looks everywhere for her, searching along the prairie. At one point Hoover wanted to get out of it and turn it back to the state, but after the scandal he didnt have a choice., Tom White and Hoover. Unlike state and local investigators, Hoovers agents provided the Osage with some relief from their Reign of Terrorbut also a bill for more than $20,000 for their services. Aprenda agora mesmo! Osage mineral lease royalties were paid to the tribe, who then distributed it equally to each allottee. how many osage murders might there possibly have been? So it was very hard to know who to turn to, who you could trust, who would stop these crimes, who would truly investigate them. The second chronicle is told from the perspective of one of the investigators. It was collectively controlled by the Osage. I'll be on the train. And they also had very limited jurisdictions over crimes, the FBI back then. Mollie Burkhart Cobb died of unrelated causes on June 16, 1937. Whites were made the caretakers of the Indians, but many of these whites married Osage, and then killed their spouses, thus . Here they were able to track and follow a man all the way to Washington, D.C., had enough information to know he was going and had the power to follow him and to kill him, you know, hundreds and hundreds of miles away from Oklahoma. Her body seemed to wither and become more insubstantial each day. There were at least 24 Osage who had been murdered. First, choose a theme and. We're now over 20 victims at this point. [12] Two months later, Lizzie Q. Kyle was killed as well. GRANN: Exactly. One descendant of a murderer I spoke with sent me a note at one point. You can use this space to go into a little more detail about your company. He is somebody who is born around the same time on the frontier in a log cabin in Texas. GRANN: So yeah - so Barney McBride was an oilman in the area, a white man. Even the Osages blessings turned out to be cursed, however. [12] Kelsie Morrison, a petty criminal, later admitted to murdering Brown and testified that William Hale, a prominent local cattleman, had asked him to do so. Morrison received a life sentence in 1926, for his participation in the Brown murder. There was one champion steer-roper Osage who got a call one night. And that's why so many killers ultimately escaped justice. And you often didn't quite know who they were working for, who they were leaking to. Whats interesting is you get to see Hoover and the bureau in its formative period. And there was a certain kind of unmooredness to the society. It was the time of America's oil boom, and Osage County, Oklahoma was in the heart of the matter. So the Osage Tribe was allotted. And what allotted meant - this happened to many American tribes in that period - where the federal government was forcing them to break up the reservations, break up their communal way of life, turn them into, quote, unquote, "private property owners." They had become. DAVIES: So the Osage looked to the federal government - let's get a federal investigation of this. The Osage - he was a friend of the Osage. DAVIES: David Grann, thank you so much for speaking with us. In 1929, $27 million was reported as still being held by the "Guardian System", the organization set up to protect the financial interests of 883 Osage families in Osage County.[9]. Partly that was because the victims were Native Americans.