from 1800 to 1870, The Osage Tribe struggled to find land for their people and eventually set up an Indian Territory that would later become Oklahoma. They picked Oklahoma because the earth was rocky and infertile and they believed the white man would not bother them in that terrain.
Little did they know, in 1897, oil was discovered on the Osage Indian Reservation which gave the tribe a headwright, which was their share in the mineral trust. The Osage would receive a monthly check, starting at $100, and then it grew to over $1K.
This unfortunately painted a target on the Osage by whites who wanted to cash in on their fortunes. Safeguards were put in place to ensure the headwrights would stay within the Osage, but like anything, there are always loop holes and by the 1920's criminals started trying to infiltrate these safeguards by murdering members of the Osage.
In this episode we discuss the tragedy that befell the Osage, sometimes wiping out WHOLE families! Listen now as we discuss the history and murders of the Osage tribe.
Sources
Wikipedia.com
NPR.com
fbi.gov
okhistory.org
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