Killers Of The Flower Moon by David Grann

"How exciting and also tragic to read about the Native Americans in Oklahoma who were systematically killed for their oil rights. The story of how the FBI came into being is included. I read it in just one day. I definitely recommend this book." "I think the author, David Grann did very good work. His researches were very thoroughly, it makes the powerful persuasion for readers. His writing style is reader friendly, I can read the book smoothly in English with word-wise function of kindle. The book contains a lot of pictures, it helped me image the Osage world. The gruesome and buried history continues now. We can learn the facts by reading this book, we can think of ways of restoring justice, trust. It is the book that not only the American people, but a lot of people should read." "The Osage Indians lived in Kansas until the 1870s when the government decided that their land was too valuable for them to own, and the Osage Indians were being forced off their land. The Osage Indians were moved to Northeastern Oklahoma on a patch of ground that was deemed worthless - until oil was discovered beneath the reservation land in the 1920s, those dirt scratching Indians became extremely wealthy. The federal government, due to the Osages’ inherent racial weakness, deemed them incapable of managing their own affairs and appointed guardians to manage their affairs, white guardians. Guardians who controlled their money for their own benefit - buying a car for $250, and selling it to their appointed dependee at $1,250 for a healthy profit. However, the tale of greed escalates to one of murder and a devilish plot to murder its womenfolk one by one, in a coldly calculated order, as would gradually bequeath their riches to white speculators in the end by the only viable means: inheritance...." 

Oklahoma의 Osage Nation에서 실제로 발생했던 살인사건을 다루고 있는 Non-fiction 물이다. 부유한 인디언들의 재산을 빼앗기 위한 무서운 연속살인 사건들이 발생하는데 주범이 그 지역의 권력자이기에 사건의 해결은 힘들어진다. 그래서 J. Edgar Hoover는 전 Texas Ranger 인 Tom White와 연방 요원들을 파견한다. Tom White의 노력으로 사건의 진실이 밝혀지고 이 사건을 계기로 FBI라는 연방 조직이 탄생한다는 것이 이 책의 큰 줄거리다. 인디언들에 대한 백인들의 편견과 탐욕은 이 책에서 잘 묘사되고 있다. 미국이라는 사회는 지금도 인종 차별의 문제를 해결하지 못하고 있는 거 같다. 이번 미국 선거도 그런 면을 보여준다는 생각이 든다. 저자가 말해주는 'Detetive'라는 단어의 사전적 정의도 재밌었지만 다음과 같은 문장들은 이 책을 잘 설명해주는 거 같다. 

-- "There are men amongst the whites, honest men, but they are mighty scarce." 

-- Garrick Bailey, a leading anthropologist on Osage culture .... If Hale had told what he knew, a high percentage of the country's leading citizens would have been in prison.... Indeed, virtually every element of society was complicit in the murderous system. Which is why just about any memeber of this society might have been responsible for the murder....... vast criminal operation that was reaping millions and millions of dollars...