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Bloodland: A Family Story of Oil, Greed and Murder on the Osage Reservation
Journalist Dennis McAuliffe, Jr. opens old family wounds and ultimately exposes a widespread murder conspiracy and shameful episode in American history.
352 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
January 29, 2016
This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. It combines a super weird little corner of American history -- when the Osage tribe in the American West became insanely wealthy oil barons -- with a fascinating family history and a personal quest for the truth by the author. After I read this for the first time, I immediately turned back to the first page and re-read it. It is just that good.
June 3, 2017
McAuliffe details the personal search for his Native American roots and heritage after learning from his mother that she was half Osage Indian. Kathleen Bolton McAuliffe's father and step-mother had tried to erase all evidence of her Osage blood after Kathleen's mother died in 1925. As McAuliffe researched his background, he noted many discrepancies in the stories of his Indian grandmother's death. Her death certificate said she died from kidney disease while several elderly citizens of Osage County, Oklahoma, who had known his grandmother said that Sybil Bolton had committed suicide. McAuliffe was driven to discover the truth, and in so doing he came to realize that his grandmother had been murdered, one of the last victims of the Reign of Terror in which Osage Indians were systematically murdered by the white guardians who were appointed to help them manage the great wealth they suddenly acquired when oil was discovered on the Osage land. McAuliffe's search was further complicated by the lack of accurate records and his own struggles with alcohol.
This is not a literary telling. It is probably best described as a journalistic memoir, but it is nevertheless compelling. Those who would like to know more about the Osage murders and the Reign of Terror should read David Grann's Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI.
This is not a literary telling. It is probably best described as a journalistic memoir, but it is nevertheless compelling. Those who would like to know more about the Osage murders and the Reign of Terror should read David Grann's Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI.
May 28, 2010
This book was both fascinating and deeply unsettling. Fascinating because I spent the first 18 years of my life living in Bartlesville, and then a summer working in Pawhuska, and it's rare to read literary descriptions of those places. Unsettling, because no one ever talked about what happened there to the Osage during Oklahoma's Reign of Terror. It is strange to find out about the atrocities that took place so close to home from a book I checked out from the Brooklyn library. This book is amazingly researched, obviously to a level of obsession. I found that the descent of the author into alcoholism to be just as tragic and interesting as the book. I can't think of another book I've read that so obviously destroyed its author.
February 19, 2018
David Grann's 2017 book Killers of the Flower Moon covers same story, and references McAuliffe's 1994 book. Both authors deserve 4 out of 5 stars for dramatic story about the Osage murders in a disgraceful period. Research in both is diligent. Grann's is more analytic vs McAuliffe's more personal, and those are his strongest sections.
Several stories are mashed together: whodunit, manifest destiny, racism, alcoholism.
Both books are long (350 pages) uneven and confusing in parts.
The individuals are victims of a conspiracy which is partly apprehended.
Other conspirators become unaccused suspects making unsatisfying criminal cases: not authors' fault partly FBI's fault and also political coverup by racist, greedy white majority.
McAuliffe makes uncomfortable racial comparisons: assimilation applied to Indians not blacks?
don't ask % Indian blood unless you ask black same? That is asked, maybe not as often.
The story cannot resolve all the facts, which are delivered linearly like newspaper reports.
W.Hale gets teaser mention in Sybil's death. Tempting to say Hale responsible, but FBI didn't prove that and neither investigation finds that FBI was corrupt just slow.
He resists limiting specific crimes to ringleader W.Hale and his nephews, wanting to broaden the accusation to entire white society. He does accuse Woodward who escapes responsibility, with more hunch than real evidence.
The style of non-fiction must differ from reporting. Some of the stories are just reported
like post-it notes, setting a background where the reader can infer a mood. His analysis sections would be better served to hypothesize methods for the conspiracy, with a simpler statement of white racism, which is true but he's not proving it true.
I appreciate the attempt to generalize, but not with so many complaints and delivering ineffective sermons. Racism and manifest destiny are epic stories, can't be told linearly.
The author should resist over-analyzing mega trends.
On the other end, he should throw out unrelated detail: the ghost of Sheridan's wife?
It is odd to compare 2 caskets to public rest rooms down the hall from each other.
Also in Wash DC FBI bldg "the reading room is about the size of an average public rest room"
There's so much off-the-topic detail that I skimmed much of the middle section.
Despite these criticisms, a memorable and enlightening book.
Several stories are mashed together: whodunit, manifest destiny, racism, alcoholism.
Both books are long (350 pages) uneven and confusing in parts.
The individuals are victims of a conspiracy which is partly apprehended.
Other conspirators become unaccused suspects making unsatisfying criminal cases: not authors' fault partly FBI's fault and also political coverup by racist, greedy white majority.
McAuliffe makes uncomfortable racial comparisons: assimilation applied to Indians not blacks?
don't ask % Indian blood unless you ask black same? That is asked, maybe not as often.
The story cannot resolve all the facts, which are delivered linearly like newspaper reports.
W.Hale gets teaser mention in Sybil's death. Tempting to say Hale responsible, but FBI didn't prove that and neither investigation finds that FBI was corrupt just slow.
He resists limiting specific crimes to ringleader W.Hale and his nephews, wanting to broaden the accusation to entire white society. He does accuse Woodward who escapes responsibility, with more hunch than real evidence.
The style of non-fiction must differ from reporting. Some of the stories are just reported
like post-it notes, setting a background where the reader can infer a mood. His analysis sections would be better served to hypothesize methods for the conspiracy, with a simpler statement of white racism, which is true but he's not proving it true.
I appreciate the attempt to generalize, but not with so many complaints and delivering ineffective sermons. Racism and manifest destiny are epic stories, can't be told linearly.
The author should resist over-analyzing mega trends.
On the other end, he should throw out unrelated detail: the ghost of Sheridan's wife?
It is odd to compare 2 caskets to public rest rooms down the hall from each other.
Also in Wash DC FBI bldg "the reading room is about the size of an average public rest room"
There's so much off-the-topic detail that I skimmed much of the middle section.
Despite these criticisms, a memorable and enlightening book.
June 20, 2023
The author, who only learned as an adult that he was of Osage Indian heritage, sets about to find the truth about the suspicious death of his grandmother. The wealthy young woman died, reputedly by suicide, in the 1920s in Pawhuska, Okla. The Osage had become fabulously wealth, due to oil strikes on their reservation, and an army of swindlers had descended upon the area in an effort to take away that wealth. White men were appointed "guardians" for the supposedly incompetent Indians, and dozens (perhaps hundreds) of the Osage met untimely deaths. McAuliffe's personal story, which is told alongside that of his grandmother, is less interesting. But I suppose it was necessary to include. The author gives a valuable lesson on the history of the Osage, including the ill treatment by white society that persisted well into the 20th Century. McAuliffe also gives an interesting picture of Pawhuska in the 1990s, before the Osage went into the casino business and before the "Pioneer Woman" TV show brought tourists to the town.
June 22, 2017
The mystery of his grandmother's murder, historically labeled as suicide, is related along w/ the author's own discovery that he is an Osage Indian. The personal struggles of the author are told in a manner that does not create empathy; his bitterness toward the white Americans who stole from the native peoples is justified but seems exaggerated. The truths and facts are indeed outrageous, but perhaps the author is not the best person to tell his story.
March 4, 2018
Illuminating and Horrifying
I read this in order to learn more about my own family’s history as non-allotted Osages. In our family, the story goes that my great-grandfather took his name off the rolls in order to give his half-white children a better chance in life. Now I realize there was perhaps more to that story than purely economic survival.
I read this in order to learn more about my own family’s history as non-allotted Osages. In our family, the story goes that my great-grandfather took his name off the rolls in order to give his half-white children a better chance in life. Now I realize there was perhaps more to that story than purely economic survival.
July 3, 2019
The murder of the Osage Indians during the early 1920’s is especially interesting to me. Mr McAuliffe’s search to learn about his grandmothers death was fascinating. And As a genealogist, his search was exactly what I do as a hobby- Not to mention that Pawhuska, OK is my dad’s hometown. I’m glad I read this.
August 12, 2018
Excellent page turner written by the grandson. His story is well written and easy to follow.
November 24, 2019
Good research.
The author brought to life a crime that has been almost forgotten. It gives insight into not just the murders, but to the racism that existed.
The author brought to life a crime that has been almost forgotten. It gives insight into not just the murders, but to the racism that existed.
September 28, 2022
When compared to other books on this topic, this one was quite dry.
April 4, 2016
This is one of the most disturbing books I've read. In the early 1920s, the Osage had the highest per capita income in the world and the highest murder rate in the world. The tragedy of the Osage reign of terror is something that is exceptionally well hidden and buried away. It needs to be told.
This is a frightening story but I must say the writing leaves much to be desired. It's very difficult to follow the meandering branches of the overlapping family trees and the heavy freight of sidetracks to the author's personal life are distracting. Nonetheless, it is a book everyone would benefit from reading.
This is a frightening story but I must say the writing leaves much to be desired. It's very difficult to follow the meandering branches of the overlapping family trees and the heavy freight of sidetracks to the author's personal life are distracting. Nonetheless, it is a book everyone would benefit from reading.
May 16, 2010
I enjoyed reading this book.
There were times where I would get very angry about what the author was talking about. Mostly b/c of how Indians were treated back then, and how many are regarded now. Most people I come across don't want to hear about Indians at all.
Other times, the author was very angry about what he was talking about. It is obvious when you read certain paragraphs that he's biased, but he'd probably be the first to tell you that.
There were times where I would get very angry about what the author was talking about. Mostly b/c of how Indians were treated back then, and how many are regarded now. Most people I come across don't want to hear about Indians at all.
Other times, the author was very angry about what he was talking about. It is obvious when you read certain paragraphs that he's biased, but he'd probably be the first to tell you that.
December 28, 2015
Amazing book by an author searching for his family history and finds out that his grandmother was murdered. Great research about the Osage Nation and the early oil years. Osage tribal members were murdered for what was termed "a head right" that gave them rights to oil money. Pawhuska, Oklahoma and Osage County to this day benefits from the oil that pumps from the ground underneath a persons feet.
November 8, 2012
This story was an eye opener. When I read this, I was fortunate to be able to participate in a group call with the author. Mr. McAuliffe was gracious, and kind enough to talk to us well past the designated time frame. His research was immense. I was most perplexed that none of the information in this book was ever taught to us in our Oklahoma History classes. EXCELLENT READ!
August 11, 2011
What an amazing story-- that the Osage Indians were the richest people in the world in 1920 was news to me; never mind the fact that many of them were murdered over it. A little dry and repetitive from time to time, but an overal fascinating read.
March 7, 2013
This book was a fascinating read. The Native American story was really a backdrop for what happened in the book, but the story of greed and murder and being sure you have the 'right connections' in a small town are all very interesting. It's a goodread!
May 10, 2011
The writing isn't great, but the subject matter is fascinating especially for me (a native Oklahoman).
April 20, 2016
I know this book to be based on true events. I am an Osage. My mom's name was Sybil but this book was not about her. Even though I enjoyed reading it, the story made me so very sad and mad.
May 12, 2016
not a book club book, recommended by Jennifer and Chuck Shipley. It was good and a true story.
May 15, 2016
Well, we certainly didn't cover any of this in American History classes.
April 20, 2020
A little known story about how the FBI was formed. Really really good.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews