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Osage Nation celebrates historic Oscar nominations
Tuesday, January 23, 2024
Indianz.Com
The Osage Nation is celebrating a major milestone for a film that shares an otherwise difficult time in the tribe’s history.
Killers of the Flower Moon has been nominated for 10 Academy Awards — including prestigious nods for Best Picture and for Best Actress in a Leading Role. In the latter category, Lily Gladstone is making history as the first Native American to be recognized for her achievements in film.
But the Osage Nation is also celebrating one of its own. Scott George, a tribal citizen, has been nominated for Best Original Song for composing “Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People),” which appears in the pivotal closing scene of the film.
“Congratulations to all Oscar nominees for Killers of the Flower Moon; we are overjoyed that the hard work put into making this film is being celebrated,” Osage Nation Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear said in a statement on Tuesday following the announcement from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
“Osage Nation is especially proud that Osage Composer Scott George, consultants Kenny and Vann Bighorse, and all our tribal singers are receiving this extraordinary recognition for ‘Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People),’” Standing Bear said of the composer and of consultants Kenny Bighorse, a tribal elder, and his son, Vann, who serves as Secretary of Language, Culture and Education for the tribe.
“For us, there’s nothing better than hearing our singers around the drum,” Standing Bear continued. “We are pleased that the Academy members recognize the strength and beauty behind this song.”
Killers of the Flower Moon tells the story of the Osage people during a genocidal era in their history. Having been forced out of their homelands in Kansas just a couple of decades prior, the discovery of oil on their territory in present-day Oklahoma in the early 1900s led to unprecedented economic and social opportunities for the tribe.
The newfound wealth also brought in outsiders who targeted the Osage people for their land and their mineral rights. The film in particular focuses on Mollie Kyle, whose family was murdered by non-Indians in the 1920s in a criminal scheme for which her then-husband was convicted.
Gladstone, who is Blackfeet and Nez Perce, portrayed Mollie in the film. With her nomination for Best Actress in Leading Role, she becomes the first Native person to land an acting nod at the Oscars.
Leonardo DiCaprio portrayed Ernest Burkhart, who was Mollie’s husband. He did not receive any Academy Award nominations for the film, for which he also served as an executive producer.

Killers of the Flower Moon, which debuted in theaters last October and is now streaming on Apple TV, was filmed on Osage territory in northeastern Oklahoma in 2021. The screenplay is based on a book titled Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann, a non-Native author. The film is currently ranked number one on Apple TV. list of nominations for Killers of the Flower Moon follows:
- Best Picture: Dan Friedkin, Bradley Thomas, Martin Scorsese and Daniel Lupi, Producers
- Best Actress in Leading Role: Lily Gladstone
- Best Original Song: “Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People)” — Music and Lyric by Scott George
- Best Original Score: Robbie Robertson
- Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Robert De Niro
- Best Director: Martin Scorsese
- Best Cinematography: Rodrigo Prieto
- Best Costume Design: Jacqueline West
- Best Editing: Thelma Schoonmaker
- Best Production Design: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Adam Willis
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