How Martin Scorsese Involved the Osage in 'Killers of the Flower Moon'

Martin Scorsese's latest film, the sprawling 3.5 hour Killers of the Flower Moon just had its world premiere at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival. Despite the weighty runtime, the film was given an overwhelmingly positive reception by critics, who called it "enthralling" and "powerful." Collider's own Therese Lacson gave the film a B, praising the performances while wondering if director Martin Scorsese was the right person to tell the story of brutal murders in the Osage Nation in the 1920s. While it's true having a Native American director at the helm would likely have made for a very different filmgoing experience, it comes as some comfort that Scorsese worked to include Osage voices at every step along the way, including giving a local Osage paper an exclusive on new images from the film.In a thread posted to his Twitter account shortly after embargo lifted on the film, former Principal Chief of the Osage Nation Jim Gray spoke of his involvement with the film, which he had the chance to screen weeks before the audience of critics currently gathered in the south of France.

Gray is a direct descendant of Henry Roan (played in the film by William Belleau), whose murder was what pointed the FBI towards William Hale (Robert De Niro) as the person responsible for the murders. Providing additional context for his involvement, Gray said:

"My connection to this story is from multiple perspectives 1) being a direct descendent and namesake to Henry Roan (James Roan) is one reason me and my siblings were allowed to see it in advance. His murder in this film led the FBI to charge Hale for ordering his murder. 2) As the former Principal Chief of the Osage Nation, (2002-2010) I had legitimate concerns that the movie industry might miss the point of the story beyond the violence, and I was fairly outspoken about it when the bidding war for the movie was going on in 2017. 3) I was also adamant that our Nation speak up and engage proactively with the filmmakers and encourage them to let us help them make this film. To his credit, Scorsese did come and meet privately with descendants like me and others to hear our concerns."

This proactive approach paid off for Gray and others of the Osage Nation. Gray said that rewrites on the script allowed the focus to shift away from the FBI and towards the Osage, who worked tirelessly to see their perspective and culture conveyed authentically on screen:

"Literally, the script was rewritten during the shutdown caused by the pandemic in 2020. This led to major changes in casting as well. These changes brought the Osage closer to the heart of the story than about the birth of the FBI. The Chief appointed representatives to consult with the filmmakers and offered up the reservation to shoot the film on location, use our language speakers, hire our folks in front and behind the camera. Cultural consultants we're brought to bring the Osage way of life to the film. The dignity and care for the Osage perspective was genuine and honest throughout the process and the Osage responded with the kind of passion and enthusiasm that met this historic moment."

As for how he feels about the finished product, Gray went on to praise the film, the cast and direction, while also calling out the various ways in which the Osage Nation contributed to bringing the story to the big screen, saying:

"For those of us who were watching from the sidelines while our best and brightest among us auditioned, sewed, catered, painted, acted and advised the filmmakers, it's going to be hard not to feel our presence in helping to tell this painful, violent story to an international audience. It's not just my family's story, or my Tribal Nation's story, it's a story of America. Meaning, it's your story too. But in the hands of a Martin Scorsese and his team combined with an A list cast, the excitement and anxiety was at an all-time high for the Osage people. But at the end of the day, many of you will only see a movie but for us, it's more, much more and that's why this movie will hit us deeper than the rest. But as an Osage with deep connections, I want to thank David Grann and the Late Charles Red Corn for giving Apple and Scorsese the canvas to paint this story with his vision."

As for the film itself, Gray gave his short review, which seems to fall in with the impressions of other critics:

"How was the movie? It was excellent. Scorsese even captured some of our humor. The performances across the board were Oscar worthy, I mean it. I've never seen a movie like this before. No White Savior, nothing needed to be made up. The violence is real and the music of the Osage language was beautifully spoken by all of the actors especially the non-Osage actors. At some point I stopped worrying about the subtitles. But the ending. Oh man, you will not forget the ending. But you're going to have to see the film for that. My lips are sealed."

A Painful History

For Gray though, Killers of the Flower Moon is so much more than a film, it's very real history. One that is still present, still painful, and closer to present day than perhaps many would like to admit. His thread gave additional context for how near and dear the events of the film were to him, and the repercussions the held well into the 21st century:

"It was 100 years ago when John Ramsey murdered my Great-Grandfather Henry Roan and watching his murder on the screen was difficult to watch knowing my late mother lost her mother and her brother in a car accident shortly thereafter and she was an orphan by the end of that decade. She hardly talked about it for years but when she did, she told me I was named after her baby brother James and her grandpa Henry Roan so we will never forget him. Years later as Chief, I focused on settling our Trust claims against the United States for mismanagement of our Mineral Estate (Reservation) and creating a new federal law that recognized our inherent sovereign right to change our form of government recognize thousands of Osages that were left off the rolls for generations. I did all of this to show the world we may have been victims then but we don't live like victims today. Our people accomplished this two years before my Mom passed away in 2008."

Killers of the Flower Moon hits theaters on October 6.