In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered on their land, they rode in chauffeured cars and lived in mansions.
Then, one by one, the Osage were killed. Mollie Burkhart watched as her family became a prime target. Her relatives were shot and poisoned. Other Osage were also dying under mysterious circumstances, and many of those who investigated the crimes were also murdered.
As the death toll rose, the case was taken over by the newly created FBI and its young, secretive director, J. Edgar Hoover. Struggling to crack the mystery, Hoover turned to a former Texas Ranger named Tom White, who put together an undercover team, including a Native American agent. They infiltrated the community and exposed one of the most chilling conspiracies in American history.
David Grann wrote a nook about it: Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI and Martin Scorsese turned it into a film starring Lily Gladstone, Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro.
I’m going to make a longer video this weekend that discusses the story. I’ll post it on my Substack. So, if you want to read the book and see the movie, you won’t want to watch my video because there will be spoilers.
But you’re always welcome to join our growing Substack community. We are still welcoming new members to our tribe.
