The Big Picture Martin Scorsese’s film, Killers of the Flower Moon, is based on a non-fiction book by David Grann that investigates the murders of dozens of Osage people in Oklahoma in the 1920s. It’s an epic tale that explores not only the murders themselves, but also greed, wealth, conspiracy, racism, and the early days of the FBI.
Despite the careful planning of the Osage, white men believed wealth was unjustifiably falling into the hands of these Indian Americans. They argued that the federal government had provided the Osage with land that, through sheer good luck, was incredibly valuable. As a result, some white Oklahomans felt something drastic needed to be done to redistribute wealth back into the hands of white men. One such white man who resented the Osage’s wealth was William Hale .
At this point in American history, local police departments were either understaffed, underfunded, or nonexistent. This meant that complicated tasks such as investigating murders fell to inexperienced locals who more or less took it upon themselves to gather evidence and question suspects. For the wealthy, private detectives such as Pinkertons could be employed instead.
Agent White Uncovers Shocking Truths After only a few months, Agent White’s talented team of investigators began unraveling the conspiracy behind the Osage deaths. They realized that many of the so-called “guardians” tasked with supervising wealthy Osage people were hopelessly corrupt. These guardians found various ways to cheat the Osage, ultimately pilfering at least $8 million from their wards.
A Sensational Trial and a Horrific Legacy After the FBI had gathered sufficient evidence to convict Hale, the ensuing trial became a media sensation filled with seemingly countless twists and turns. Ernest Burkhart admitted that his uncle William Hale was behind the conspiracy to profit from the murder of Osage people. Burkhart also confessed that, at the behest of his uncle, he had personally hired the man responsible for murdering one of the Osage victims.
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