On a warm January evening, with the temperature tempting us to believe in summer, Julian and I headed out to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian for a special event: a Killers of the Flower Moon ‘Clips and Conversations’ hosted by CNN’s Jake Tapper, featuring Academy Award nominees Martin Scorsese and Lily Gladstone, alongside Osage Nation Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear. Inside the rotunda, there was a buzz of anticipation. No Indigenous person had ever been nominated for an Oscar, until Lily Gladstone. There was also a lot to see: various nations had come together to raise a glass, and costumes and memorabilia from the film were on display. As we walked into The Diker Pavillion for Native Arts and Culture, we were greeted with songs from the Osage Singers led by Scott George, the composer of the nomination for Best Original Song, “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)”.
After the pre-show performance, Cynthia Chavez Lamar, the NMAI Director, kicked off the event with an introduction and acknowledgments (and I have to mention, a haircut that is so fire in its precision that her hair-stylist deserves flowers). Then, Lonnie Bunch, the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, took the stage urging us to hold fast to history lest we repeat its darkest chapters but also so its lessons will live on.
When Jake Tapper came out, he told us about the gorgeously candid photo he took of Lily Gladstone, as she watched the Osage Singers perform. The photo, which Tapper later posted on the Dead Bird App, is a visual testament to the evening’s emotional resonance. This was reflected more as the evening unfolded and Chief Standing Bear shared the deep grief that still lingers within the Osage community. For a long time, they didn’t know how to talk about the murders of their people for oil wealth during the 1910s–1930s. The topic had remained shrouded in silence, a pain too profound to speak about.
For Lily, it was her childhood journey of discovery, one sparked by her admiration for ballet dancer Maria Tallchief that blossomed into a deep connection with the legacy of the Osage people and the tragedies they faced. Those same events led Martin Scorsese to tell one part, though not the totality, of this people’s story. So often BIPOCs have to remind the world that while our histories must be retold, we are not our tragedies. With that in mind, Tapper quoted Leonardo DiCaprio, who said, ‘Scorsese was dedicated to the truth and to finding the soul of this history and the people.’ Surprisingly, the lauded director confessed his initial anxiety about connecting to this story, which is so far from his own experiences. Yet, it was through breaking bread and sharing memories with the Osage that he found the heart of this “horrific tale.”
Although the film is inspired by two books, David Grann’s Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders, and Charles H. Red Corn’s A Pipe for February, Scorsese’s approach came out of introspection. He asked himself, “What if you get under the surface, what if you get inside the people?” This led to the fractured romance of Mollie and Ernest Burkhart becoming the emotional core of the film. Their love and Ernest’s betrayal are an analogy for the long-game plot used to prey on the Osage—adding parallel layers of trust and betrayal.
Unsurprisingly, Scorsese’s confidence in Lily was unwavering. He said he knew Lily was “totally right” from the start and that he had “total confidence” in her. He didn’t need a chemistry test with DiCaprio because he’d found the woman who would be the beating heart at the center of his film. He got that right. Lily’s casting felt like destiny when she got the call on Mollie’s birthday—perhaps a sign of spiritual approval from the ancestors.
Another moving moment happened when Julie O’Keefe, the costuming consultant, stood up to talk about the tradition behind Osage Wedding Coats. It started in the 1700s when an Osage delegation traveled to meet Thomas Jefferson. One of the delegates admired the military jackets worn at the time, and Jefferson ordered a group of officers to hand their uniforms over. Here’s the funny thing, Osage men were all 6’ or taller. They couldn’t wear those tiny European war-jackets, so they gave them to their daughters. The Osage women upcycled the garments, adorning them with traditional decorations and pairing them with the feathered hats that became a wedding tradition. O’Keefe pointed out that this transformation represented a toppling of those symbols of subjugation.
Before the event ended, Scott George and the Osage Singers gifted us with a live performance of “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)”. Although it is sung in a cultural-language that is not my own, the chanting and drums made themselves understood. I felt the Wahzhazhe, the“people of the middle water,” in my spirit.
So, I’ll close with this: May we find pathways to each other that are paved with respect. The value of life should never be measured by ethnicity, religion, or wealth—we are meant to be one, in all our multifaceted grace.
RIOTUS 