Friday, February 9, 2018

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



Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann starts off as a true crime story, with elements of the genre that are a bit embarrassing.  Grann uses the slang of the time of the Osage murders liberally, giving the narrative a forced and silly feel.

But read on, and you quickly realize that Grann is telling an important story.  The Osage Indians grew rich from oil at the turn of the twentieth century.  The local white population, the Department of Indian Affairs, state law enforcement, all preyed upon them, stripped them of their wealth through rapacious paternalism and murder.

Grann’s book is an important piece of American history.  We tend to think that injustice against American Indians ended at some point, maybe when they were forced on reservations.  But no, it continued and continues as part of the fabric of American life.  Often, it was as egregious and despicable as what happened to the Osage.

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