‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ is latest in long line of movies about Native Americans in Oklahoma

Susan King
·5 min read
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Things are anything but fine in Oklahoma in Martin Scorsese’s latest film, the Western epic “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which premiered out of competition in Cannes to a nine-minute standing ovation and opened in theaters on Oct. 20. The Apple TV + production will stream on the service later this year.

Based on David Grann’s lauded non-fiction book, “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which stars Scorsese’s favorite collaborators Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio and Native American actress Lily Gladstone, revolves around the Osage Murders in Oklahoma in the early 1920s. Wealthy members of the Osage people were systemically murdered after immense amounts of oil were found on their land.

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The tragic history of the relationship of Native Americans and whites in Oklahoma was chronicled in RKO’s sprawling 1931 Western “Cimarron,” based on the best-selling 1930 novel by Edna Ferber. The studio paid $125,000 for the rites to Ferber’s novel revolving around the lawyer/newspaper editor Yancy Cravat (Richard Dix) and conservative wife Sabra (Irene Dunne) who are part of the 1889 Oklahoma land rush. They settle in the wild and wooly fictional town of Osage where he sets up his newspaper with the cringeworthy name of the Osage Wigwam. While Sabra refers to the Native people as dirty filthy Indians, Yancy doesn’t hide his feelings about how poorly the tribes have been treated. When oil is found Osage lands, Yancy is asked to be involved in a scheme to rob the Indians of their money. Instead of joining the thieves, he writes a editorial proclaiming it’s time for the Native Americans to become citizens. The film creaks and offers stereotypical portrayals of blacks, Jews and even a stutterer. But “Cimarron” is surprisingly progressive for its day as witnessed in Yancy’s dogged pursuit of justice for the Native American. However, there are no major Indian characters in the film. The expensive production lost money at the box office, but was nominated for seven Oscars, and was the first Western to win Best Picture,

Warner Bros. entertaining 1939 Western “The Oklahoma Kid’’ is set during the 1893 Cherokee Strip land rush Though the charming Oklahoma Kid (James Cagney) believes the territory was stolen from the Indians because the Native people were paid just $1.14 for their land, don’t look for any Indians in the film. There aren’t any. It’s basically a New York gangster film set in Oklahoma with Humphrey Bogart, no less, as the chief baddie with an itchy trigger finger and Cagney as his nemesis. According to TCM.com, Bogey did an interview with the New York Times before the film’s release where he maintained it wasn’t much different for him playing a mobster and an outlaw in the Wild West: “I speak the same lines and do the same things as I do in any other Warner picture. The only difference is that I snarl at the Injuns from under a ten-gallon hat.”

Joel McCrea stars in the 1957 “B” sagebrush saga “The Oklahoman” as a widower doctor living with his young daughter in a small town in the early 1870’s who finds himself getting involved in preventing a murderous cattle rancher from taking over the land owned by a Native American, Charlie Smith. The rancher (Brad Dexter) will do anything to take the land where oil has recently been discovered. Though McCrea’s doc has eyes for a widowed rancher (Barbara Hale), his daughter’s nanny Maria (Gloria Talbott), Charlie’s eldest child, has fallen in love with McCrea. In fact, some of the women in town think the good doctor and Maria are a couple. Though the rancher stirs up prejudice against the Indians who live amongst then, most of the townsfolk embrace the Native Americans. But there is a big problem with “The Oklahoman.” The Native Americans aren’t allowed to be Indians. They have been assimilated to the white man’s world and ways. No wonder they are welcomed.

Though it doesn’t involve the Oklahoma land rush or the Osage Murders, “The Daughter of Dawn” from 1920 features an all-Native cast-members of Kiowa and Comanche tribes. Restored by the Oklahoma Historical Society, the film revolves around a love triangle and features a thrilling buffalo hunt, traditional dancing and a battle. The tribal members even brought their own tipis, horses and clothing from their reservations for use in the production. Milestone Films has released “Daughter” on DVD and is currently on the Criterion Channel.

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