At their Feb. 23 meeting, Unity Club members discussed the book “Killers of the Moon” by David Grann, a work nominated for the 2017 National Book Award.
According to Unity readers, in the early 1870s the Osage people had been driven from their lands in Kansas onto a rocky, presumably worthless reservation in northeastern Oklahoma, only to discover decades later that this land was positioned above some of the richest oil deposits in the United States.
To obtain that oil, prospectors had to pay the Osage for leases and royalties.
In the early 20th century, each person whose name was inscribed on the tribal roll as members began receiving quarterly checks, which quickly amassed into vast fortunes.
By one account, the amount of oil money received surpassed even the total value of all the Old West gold rushes combined.
Many Osage began living as millionaires.
In the early 1920’s, however, members of the Osage tribe were systematically murdered for their headrights.
Between 1921 and 1925, the murders grew to 28 in number and perhaps many more.
The newspapers dubbed this period the Osage Reign of Terror.
“Killers of the Moon” not only delves into these mysterious murders, but masterfully weaves together the history of Osage, oil exploitation on Osage lands, the criminal justice system in the 1920’s and the rise of the newly formed FBI under director J. Edgar Hoover.
Unity Club will next meet at the home of Kit McGuffin, with a presentation by Donna Lower Nord.
