Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI

In the 1920s, members of the Osage Indian nation in Oklahoma were among the richest people per capita in the world, having discovered oil beneath their land. They lived in mansions, traveled in chauffeured automobiles, and sent their children to study in Europe. Then members of the tribe began to die under mysterious circumstances. The family of Osage woman Mollie Burkhart became a prime target, with her relatives shot and poisoned. As deaths mounted to more than twenty-four, investigators themselves were murdered in this region where oilmen like J. P. Getty made fortunes and outlaws like Al Spencer roamed. The FBI took up the case as one of its first major homicide investigations, though the bureau bungled the investigation. In response, young FBI director J. Edgar Hoover brought in former Texas Ranger Tom White to help unravel the crimes. This account examines one of the most significant crimes in American history.