The Osage were originally from Kansas but were driven off their land there. So they wound up resettling in Oklahoma in the 1870s. Due to the barren nature of the
However, the land ended up being much more valuable than anyone suspected when oil was discovered on it. Thanks to "The Beverly Hillbillies" we all know what finding oil means
In 1907, Oklahoma was on the verge of becoming the 46th state of the United States. In the midst of this, the government gave some 650 acres of land to
each member of the Osage Nation listed on the tribal rolls. These "headrights," which included mineral and oil rights on the land, could not be sold, but they could be
The likes of J. Paul Getty, Harry Sinclair, and Frank Phillips all came out swinging with their checkbooks to get their hands on some of the Osage oil. With that,
As the demand for oil increased, so did the interest in the Osage people. When white men started to smell an opportunity, they struck while the iron was hot. Somehow
they managed to get Congress to pass a law that required Osage folks to have guardians that'd manage their finances. Now get this, even if they already had parents... they
David Grann, the author of "Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI," notes that the Osage were balling. Many of us don't ever
think of Native Americans living in luxury when it comes to their history but the Osage were. Grann notes, "They lived in mansions and had chauffeured cars. They had servants,
People in America were interested in the overt wealth of the Osage. Which made sense. They were once people who lived off the land and suddenly they were owning multiple
White men started to marry Osage women as word spread that white folks couldn't buy into the oil money but they could very well inherit it. Mollie Burkhart was among
Mollie Burkhart had a couple of sisters, one being Anna Brown. In May of 1921, the 25-year-old Brown was found dead in a ravine. Although the death was extremely suspicious,
Anna was last seen with Ernest Burkhart's brother, Byron Burkhart, before she was found in that ravine. No one seemed to find that suspicious. Even stranger? Byron Burkhart was also
Since Anna Brown was divorced at the time of her death, her estate went to her mother Lizzie Q. Kyle. Lizzie had become a very wealthy woman, having inherited three
estates; those of her husband and two daughters (Anna and another daughter, Minnie). Just two months after Anna's body was found, Lizzie died. Many suspected it was poison that took
In 1923 the Osage made around $30 million. If you're wondering what that translates to in today's world, they were worth as much as Lebron James; $400 million.
As the murders continued to go unsolved, and more mysterious Osage deaths started to rack up, it was clear that the local men of the law were not taking them
A rancher, William Hale, took out a life insurance policy on Henry for $25,000, but no red flags were waved since Hale was considered one of the staunchest patrons of
A little over a month later, a bomb went off at the house of Mollie and Anna's sister, Rita Smith, killing Rita, her husband Bill, and their housekeeper.
Members of the tribe and the few white supporters they had in the community were obviously concerned. Why were there so many murders happening? Those who tried to find the
To make matters worse and that much more suspicious, George Bigheart's lawyer, William Watkins Vaughan, died soon after Bigheart and only hours after claiming he had solid evidence that would
For obvious reasons, the Osage people were scared, and their fear started to show. They began to lock their doors and keep their homes illuminated at night.
In their first round, the newly formed FBI brought in Blackie Thompson, a convict they thought would be a great informant. He wound up getting away, robbing a bank, and
Meanwhile, the Department of Interior (finally) saw something fishy about the whole "guardian" thing and charged many with corruption. Of course, none of them landed behind bars. Many settled out
Congress eventually made it so that those who were not of Osage heritage could not take that large of an inheritance, but the action was too little, too late.
By the time the Osage entered 1925, 60 of their wealthiest had been killed and their land was in the hands of who else? Those white guardians who couldn't care
Assuming various identities, the new men on the job settled into the reservation and town, earning the trust of everyone in hopes that people would start talking. When they did,
Wait? Didn’t we already see this guy earlier? YES. The FBI suspected William Hale early on. Turns out that the rancher, under the cover of his "patronage," had pretty much
been the mastermind of a majority of the murders associated with Mollie Burkhart's family. He'd gotten his nephew (Ernest Burkhart) to marry the Osage woman and then, with the help
of Ernest and Byron, started plucking off her family members one by one with the intention of having Mollie, and therefore her "guardian" Ernest, inherit everything.
Turns out that William Hale hadn't been caught earlier because most people had kept hush-hush out of fear. Others who'd suspected Hale and weren't afraid to speak up, such as
Both William Hale and Ernest Burkhart were sentenced to life in prison. Byron wound up never having to serve any time. Hale served his time in Kansas while his nephew
For their help, Hoover and his men issued a bill to the Osage for more than $20 grand. Because the local law enforcement didn't do their jobs right in the
So much was taken from the Osage people due to not only the murders but embezzlement from their guardians. By the time the Great Depression hit, their oil royalties took
Despite having killed numerous people, both Hale and his nephew didn't actually serve their full life sentence. Nope. Hale was released in 1947 while Ernest was released in 1959 and
actually pardoned seven years later by Governor Henry Bellmon. It is believed by some that Hale was only the tip of the murder conspiracy and that many more criminals went
If you learn anything from a "formal" education it's that history is told from a very particular perspective in America. That being the white perspective. We all know Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492 but the rhyme fails to mention what happened in the centuries that followed; the absolute horror Native Americans went through once outsiders landed on their shores.
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