The story that Killers of the Flower Moon projects onto the big screen is one that's hard for many of us to confront, and the horrific nature of the events might even cause some viewers to chalk it up to creative Hollywood writers. But the great majority of the events of the film are, unfortunately, accurate.
When audiences saw Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flowers Moon, they may have experienced a brutal piece of American history for the first time. The three-and-a-half-hour drama starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro is based on a real series of murders in Oklahoma's Osage Nation during the 1920s.
In the film, actor Lily Gladstone portrays Mollie Burkhart, a real member of the Osage Nation whose mother, sisters and other family members were killed over their headrights, or rights to oil reserves found underneath their reservation in Oklahoma.
What happened to Mollie and Ernest Burkhart's children?
Ernest and Mollie Burkhart's son, James Burkhart, grew up and started a family after the end of Killers of the Flower Moon. According to an article by The Washington Post, James, who went by the nickname "Cowboy," married and had two daughters, Doris and Margie.
Estimates vary, but approximately twenty-four Osage Indians died violent or suspicious deaths during the early 1920s. The majority of these crimes occurred in or near Fairfax and were rarely investigated by local authorities; some were never solved.
William King Hale (December 24, 1874 – August 15, 1962) was an American political and crime boss in Osage County, Oklahoma, who was responsible for the Osage Indian murders, for which he was later convicted. He made a fortune through cattle ranching, contract killings, and insurance fraud.
What did Osage think of the Killers of the Flower Moon?
Though the film was met with much praise, many Osages still have their criticisms. Tinker would have liked Scorsese to portray the movie from an Indigenous perspective – like Mollie's – rather than from Earnest Burkhart's (Leonardo DiCaprio) perspective.
Between 1901 and 1950, the tribe received nearly $300 million, which would be worth about $4 billion today [2]. Current Financial Situation: While the Osage Tribe is no longer among the richest people, the effects of the oil industry are still felt today.
Type 2 diabetes among American Indians is the result of decreasing traditional foods of wild game, garden produce, and seasonal fruits, vegetables, tubers, and herbs, in favor of overindulging in sugary, starchy, and fatty foods and adopting a sedentary way of life.
He was paroled once more in 1959, and later pardoned by Oklahoman governor Henry Bellmon in 1966 for the Osage murders, after a 3-2 ruling in the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board. After his release from prison, Burkhart moved back to Osage County to live with his brother Byron.
Many guardians used their appointment to gain control over the ward's wealth for their own personal benefit. During this period, numerous white men married Osage women to become guardians of their estate.
The movie notes that Anna was pregnant when she died. However, the book mentions that when the FBI's lead agent on the investigation, Tom White (played by Jesse Plemons), got involved, he discovered that Hale and Anna were more than just acquaintances.
Margie Burkhart, Mollie's granddaughter, told Grann that living on the Osage Reservation with Cobb was a period of happiness for her, and in 1937, Mollie died at the age of 50. As read by Scorsese during a cameo in the film, Mollie's short obituary stated: "Mrs.
The Osage Mineral Estate is the oil, gas, and other Minerals sub-surface of the approximately 1.47 million acre Osage Reservation. Who owns the Osage Mineral Estate? Section 3 of the 1906 Act establishes that the Osage Nation is the beneficial owner the Osage Mineral Estate.
Osage men were typically described as very tall and physically well-built. Black Dog was apparently even more imposing than most, since he was described as nearly 7 feet (2.1 m) tall and weighing at least 300 pounds (140 kg). He was reportedly blind in his left eye. He is believed to have led one of the larger bands.
The United States will pay the tribe $380 million in compensation for the tribe's claims of historical losses to its trust funds and interest income as a result of the government's management of trust assets.
Overall, she thinks the issue might be that the film wasn't necessarily made for an Indigenous audience. "The source material is non-Native and Martin Scorsese is non-Native, so we were never going to get a movie that was specifically for Native people.
What is the controversy with Killers of the Flower Moon?
Scorsese took issue with the contention that “Killers” elevates a white man's point of view over an Indigenous one. “I can't really agree that the story is told primarily from a white man's perspective,” Scorsese said. “I wanted to create a kind of panoramic perspective.
The film called for her to speak fluent Osage. DiCaprio and De Niro had to master that language, too. "It wasn't easy," DiCaprio admitted. "I mean, you did an incredible job," Gladstone said.
The condition plays a pivotal part in the story: In the film, Osage people are said to commonly die before the age of 50, often from a “wasting disease” vaguely associated with diabetes, which itself is attributed to the consumption of “the white man's food.” Mollie's condition means that her husband, Ernest (Leonardo ...
What happened to Mollie Burkhart in Killers of the Flower Moon?
Mollie Burkhart divorced her husband Ernest after discovering his involvement in the murder of her sister and his attempt to poison her. Mollie regained control of her family's wealth and ended her guardianship, securing her rightful claim to her land and exposing corruption in the area.
Other prominent conditions in the film are diabetes and a “wasting disease,” implied to be in many cases undiagnosed diabetes, that takes the lives of many Osage people before they reach the age of 50. Mollie Burkhart, played by Lily Gladstone, is one of several Osage people who suffer with the disease.
