Osage chief, songwriter talk ‘Killers’ legacy after the Oscars
On a landmark night in March, Geoffrey Standing Bear found himself in a place he never expected, watching what he never imagined he would ever witness.
The principal chief of the Osage Nation was in the audience at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre on March 10 when a group of Osage singers, drummers and dancers performed live during the 96th Academy Awards.
“I never thought (I’d see) this. ... That was amazing. It was something to see it live,” Standing Bear told The Oklahoman by Zoom from his Oklahoma office just days after the Oscars.
Despite earning 10 nominations, including best picture, Martin Scorsese’s historical drama “Killers of the Flower Moon” was shut out at this year’s Academy Awards. But the lack of wins for the made-in-Oklahoma movie didn’t stop the Osage Nation — along with the film’s breakout star, Lily Gladstone, the first Native American to be nominated for best actress in the nearly 100-year history of the Academy Awards — from shining in the Oscars spotlight.
“There was some real talent in that room. Of course, we’re disappointed that ... Lily didn’t get the Academy Award. But yesterday, the day after, last night and today, people were telling me to think about it as a win for Indian Country, which is correct,” Standing Bear said.
‘People had never seen anything like that,’ Osage composer says of his Oscars performance
Filmed in and around Osage County in 2021, “Killers of the Flower Moon” earned acclaim for shining a light on the 1920s “Reign of Terror,” a series of brutal murders of Osage citizens by white people scheming to steal their oil wealth.
But the biggest movie ever made in Oklahoma encountered explosive Oscars competition in “Oppenheimer,” which dominated this year’s Academy Awards with seven wins, including best picture.
Still, “Killers of the Flower Moon” set at least seven Academy Awards records with its nominations, largely for the film’s unprecedented Indigenous representation. Del City resident Scott George became the first Indigenous nominee in the Oscars’ best original song category, as well as the first member of the Osage Nation to be nominated for an Academy Award.
Scott and the Osage Tribal Singers created a sensation by performing his nominated song “Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People)” live during the Academy Awards.
“We got a standing ovation that probably lasted for a few minutes. As my wife and I went back to sit down in the audience to watch the rest of the show, we had people making comments to us, that people had never seen anything like that before,” George told The Oklahoman in a post-Oscars interview.
“The opera singer ... Andrea Bocelli, his wife sat in front of us. She got up and turned around and shook our hands and said, ‘That was amazing. I don’t know anything about you all’s music, but that was beautiful.’”
The performance also got a standing ovation at the sold-out Oscars watch party at the Osage Casino Hotel in Pawhuska.
“To know that there were millions watching that may or may not know that we even exist, it was a good feeling. ... We didn’t expect to win anything, but we did expect to nail our performance,” said George, adding he and his wife were seated next to actress Valerie Bertinelli and her son, guitarist Wolfgang Van Halen, who played during “Barbie” star Ryan Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken” performance.
Even without an Oscar, Lily Gladstone earns the pride of Indian Country
Throughout the cinematic awards season, best actress nominee Gladstone, who is NiMíiPuu, or Nez Perce, and Siksikaitsitapi, or Blackfeet, made it a habit to pair elegant designer dresses with accessories created by Native American artists.
At the Oscars, Gladstone wore a deep blue gown that was a custom collaboration designed by Gucci creative director Sabato De Sarno and Indigenous artist Joe Big Mountain, a Mohawk, Cree and Comanche artist renowned for his quillwork jewelry.
“Poor Things” star Emma Stone’s win over Gladstone in the closely watched best actress contest was considered Oscar night’s biggest upset. Still, many Indigenous people, including Standing Bear, praised Gladstone’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” performance and awards campaign.
“She’s just a wonderful person. I was there at the Golden Globes when she made her acceptance speech. That was very inspiring. ... Indian Country at large, from what I’ve been reading, is also very proud of her. But we’re going to claim her,” the Osage chief said.
“We already did that a couple of years ago, and she’s been joining us at our dances and our traditional meals. ... She is one of us, and by golly, we’re all real proud of her.”
Traveling back to Oklahoma from Hollywood, Standing Bear said he spotted online the viral photo of Blackfeet girl Kahlia White, 7, watching Gladstone on the Oscars broadcast.
“Doesn’t that just sum it all up?” he said.
Osage chief expects ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ to keep making a difference
As she did throughout awards season, Gladstone directed attention to the Osage Nation the day after the Oscars.
“Feeling the love big time today, especially from Indian Country,” Gladstone posted on X (formerly Twitter) on March 11.
She added, “When watching the Osage Singers at the Oscars, my inner voice said ‘They’re the ones bringing us all up on stage tonight, that’s how it should be. The history in the film and of the moment rightfully belong to the Osage Nation. What an honor to be close enough to feel the drum.”
Osage County started seeing a tourism boost while filming on “Killers of the Flower Moon” was still underway, and Standing Bear said he expects visitors to continue traveling to the Osage Nation because of the movie and David Grann’s book of the same name.
The tribe will celebrate the grand reopening of the renovated Osage Nation Visitors Center at 1 p.m. April 3 at 602 E Main in Pawhuska.
“We have taken apart the train station that’s in the movie and put it into storage, and Apple has worked with us on doing that. So, now we’re going to go to our legislature next month and ask them for funding. We bought some property over there in downtown Fairfax ... and the train station that you see the movie, without the train, we want to put it back up to help that community with tourism,” Standing Bear said.
“Then, the big project, which is several years down the road, is our expansion to our museum and building of our heritage center. Gosh, the cost of that is substantial. But it’s worth it.”
With “Killers of the Flower Moon,” the chief said Scorsese created a clear path and higher standard for how filmmakers can collaborate with Native Americans to tell their stories.
“It’s how you would tell a story from an Indigenous people’s view, so you tell your story through Hollywood, instead of Hollywood telling your story. ... It’s always been Hollywood will tell the story the way they want to, and they always get it wrong. This one here is our story. And they got it right, because of the way Marty Scorsese and the producers worked with us,” he said.
“We have many more stories. ... There’s the great Oxford-educated author John Joseph Mathews and his books; those are powerful. Like all tribes, we have great artists. (Dancer) Maria Tallchief ’s daughter, Elise Paschen, she’s a world-class poet: A lot of people don’t realize that the Killers of the Flower Moon’ phrase came from one of her poems. ... A story about Maria and Marjorie Tallchief, oh, man, that would be something.”
The tribes’ story also will continue to be told through George’s Oscar-nominated song. During the March 16 Osage Nation Sovereignty Celebration, the composer placed the song on the drum, opening it up for Osage people to freely sing in it at powwows, dances and other occasions for generations to come.
“Now, it’s kind of in the public domain; of course, it still can’t be recorded and used to make money off of. ... But it belongs to the tribe; it belongs to the drum. And the beauty of having it that exposed is I don’t have to follow it around and make sure it’s sung right now,” he said with a chuckle.
“The Oscars, it was nice. It’s nice to be around people that are creative. ... But to us, that’s the important part of it.”