What Does Killers Of The Flower Moon Actually Mean?

The metaphor of the flower-moon killer didn’t originate with David Grann. It can be found much earlier, including a 2009 poem from Osage poet Elise Paschen titled “Wi’-gi-e.” The verse is told from the perspective of Mollie Burkhart as she recounts the death of her sister, Anna. The poem begins by describing the unsavory circumstances surrounding her death, including the sheriff misattributing it to whiskey poisoning and locals covering up the fact she had a bullet hole in her head. It ends with the passage, “During Xtha-cka Zhi-ga Tze-the, the Killer of the Flowers Moon. I will wade across the river of the blackfish, the otter, the beaver. I will climb the bank where the willow never dies.”

Paschen evokes the imagery of flower replacement under the watch of the moon to describe how Anna Brown was killed for access to her resources. And it wasn’t just the murderer responsible for her death who was to blame. An entire systemic issue manifested in Oklahoma where white people at all levels of power worked together to cover up multiple murders to separate the Osage from their head rights. And in the wider context of American history, it’s all the more vile. 

Indigenous people had this land first, which was overtaken by colonizers. They were then given reservations, but upon discovering oil and finding wealth, white settlers once again found a reason to separate the people who lived here first from what was theirs. And now, audiences can learn more about this story when “Killers of the Flower Moon” comes out in theaters on October 20.

ncG1vNJzZmhqZGy7psPSmqmorZ6Zwamx1qippZxemLyue9OrnKecmaO0cMPHmqtmnJ%2BawG63yKWjnqqjYrynedOhnGaenKTEpr6Mpqaopl2WsLXBwKWjsmWdmq6vew%3D%3D