Blood for Oil: The Osage Murders and the Reign of Terror
About this book
The Osage murders, also known as the Reign of Terror, occurred in the 1920s when members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma—who had become wealthy from oil found beneath their land—were systematically murdered. As headrights to oil revenues made them among the richest people per capita, the Osage became targets of greed-fueled violence. White settlers sought control of their wealth, often by marrying Osage members and then arranging their deaths.The growing death toll led to a federal investigation by the newly formed FBI, led by J. Edgar Hoover and field agent Tom White. White uncovered a conspiracy led by a local cattleman, William Hale, who had orchestrated a network of murders involving his nephew, Ernest Burkhart, who was married to an Osage woman. The investigation exposed the depths of corruption and racial injustice that allowed these murders to continue unchecked.The FBI successfully prosecuted Hale and his accomplices, but the case left a lasting scar on the Osage community. David Grann’s 2017 book, Killers of the Flower Moon, brought renewed attention to this dark chapter in American history, highlighting the tragedy and resilience of the Osage Nation.