Our community struck oil; then the murders began

Year

Jim Roan Gray is a former chief of the Osage Nation, a Native American community. In the 1920s, the Osage were the richest people in the world per capita after discovering oil on their lands. But then began the ‘reign of terror’ and the Osage were targeted in a series of mysterious murders. One of those killed was Jim’s great grandfather, Henry Roan Gray. The case led to the creation of the FBI, and decades later, the story caught the attention of Hollywood with plans to turn it into a film, Killers of the Flower Moon. But Jim had concerns. His intervention would change the film’s trajectory.

Photo: Jim Gray and his great grandfather Henry Roan. Credit: Courtesy of Jim Gray / Getty Images)

People
Native Nations
Citation

Mobeen Azhar (Presenter), Gaia Caramazza and Maryam Maruf (Producers). Our community struck oil; then the murders began. "Outlook" on BBC News World Service. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct4r3f

Transcripts for all videos are available by request. Please email us: nni@arizona.edu.

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