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Sunday, June 27, 2021

'See us as people:' Osage citizens work with 'Flower Moon' filmmakers to ensure authenticity, accuracy - Tulsa World

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PAWHUSKA — The Water Bird Gallery pops with color as the history and culture of the Osage Nation combine in a charmingly beautiful mix of offerings.

In the middle of the store is owner Danette Daniels, making friends out of new visitors. She’s a chatty, self-styled ambassador welcoming newcomers to her hometown and tribal nation.

Going through her gallery, she talks about the Indigenous artists whose works for sale hang from the walls. She explains reasons behind the designs in clothing, jewelry and blankets. She displays century-old photographs and proudly points to an etching of her father, an elder in the Osage Nation.

Flower Moon Filming

 These 1920s Osage cradle boards from the collection of Osage citizen Danette Daniels were on loan for the film based on the book “Killers of the Flower Moon.”

Tulsa World

Her enthusiasm becomes an education about what makes the Osage Nation unique.

“The Osage are known for finger weaving and ribbon work. We have bright colors like purples, reds and yellows,” she says while showing a handmade, wool broadcloth blanket accented with silk ribbons.

Just down the street gathers a crowd trying for a glimpse of stars such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, who are filming “Killers of the Flower Moon.” It’s based on the David Grann book about the 1920s systematic murders of Osage Nation members for their wealth, focusing on the deaths in Mollie Burkhart’s family.

It’s an emotional, painful story many in the Osage Nation are now revisiting. In the beginning, Daniels, like many of her fellow citizens, had concerns.

Flower Moon Filming

A scene for the movie based on the book "Killers of the Flower Moon" is filmed May 24 in Pawhuska.

As it became clear the film was to be made, an invitation was extended to the film crew to meet at the Gray Horse community, one of three districts of the Osage Nation.

“We decided to do what we do best and put on a feast and talk about it,” she said. “With our tribal cooks, about 300 Osage citizens gathered and director Martin Scorsese and his crew came. He shook every person’s hand. That took an hour.”

The community had chosen several speakers, including Daniels, to address their apprehensions.

“We aired our issues, worried about the stereotypes of Indians, like drunkenness,” she said. “We felt like Mr. Scorsese was sincere, open and listening to us. So far, they have practiced what they said they would do and collaborated with many in our community.”

Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear recalls having similar conversations with movie executives even before Scorsese took the project.

Flower Moon Filming

Osage Nation Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear says he wants people to see and hear the nation’s culture and language in the movie based on the book “Killers of the Flower Moon.”

“We didn’t want it to be just the FBI story or just the Osage who were deceased,” said Standing Bear. “We wanted them to see our culture and see as us people. We want to hear our language.

“I understood they were going to tell this movie through the eyes of Mollie (Burkhart), and it would be a movie the Osage would be proud of. That turned it for me. When Scorsese got it, he picked up on that, and it has gotten better and better.”

Flower Moon Filming

Director Martin Scorsese stands on the set of the movie based on the book “Killers of the Flower Moon” in Pawhuska. Osage citizens said they felt he was sincere about his efforts to make the movie authentic.

Authentic Osage Nation 1920s-era items used in the film are coming from local residents. It’s been a word-of-mouth search, with neighbors referring neighbors and families referring families.

Daniels has been a collector of Osage pieces her entire life. Two cradle boards and a purple ribbonwork blanket in her collection were loaned to the film crew and might make it onto the big screen, she said.

Other Osage citizens have loaned things such as dishes and furniture. What can’t be found, like vintage clothing or blankets, is being made with advice, and sometimes help, from Osage citizens.

“There are Osage consultants on set, and they are tapping into the community,” Daniels said. “I feel good about it. Sometimes they are reaching out to me on a daily basis. They really want period pieces from the ‘20s quite a bit. They really are educating themselves about this.”

Daniels posts updates regularly on her gallery’s Facebook page about the film and other Osage news.

“There are so many Osage people extremely excited about this,” Daniels said.

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The Osage Nation government has stayed out of the film production but encouraged communication with its program leaders and elders.

Johnny Williams, a member of the Osage Nation Government Affairs Advisory, serves as a film adviser. He and others cannot say much due to contractual agreements.

Flower Moon Filming

A scene is filmed on May 24 in Pawhuska for a movie based on the book “Killers of the Flower Moon.”

But he said more than 1,000 Osage citizens auditioned as extras, and many have been called to the set in crowd scenes. He said the film crew is in constant contact with Osage citizens.

“They are not hesitant to ask questions or look for consultants to get answers,” Williams said. “They are trying to live up to the promise they made the Osages.”

Indigenous nations have differentiating cultural aspects.

For the Osage Nation, red is associated with the firstborn, often worn in blankets by women and in clothing by men. The bright colors tend to be in geometric patterns, but some floral designs date to the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The family dinner table of that era would feature Spode dishes, an English brand of china, and silver utensils. A set of red Spode china is seen in a scene photo released by Apple Original Films to the Osage Nation showing DiCaprio and actress Lily Gladstone sharing a meal.

“I love Spode china,” Daniels said. “Traditional Osage women always loved Spode, and many families handed it down through their families.”

The china reflects the prosperity among Osage Nation citizens from oil royalties, said Jessilyn Addie Hudgins, Osage Cultural Center director.

“It was something they saw and liked it. They bought it and had the money to do what they want,” Hudgins said.

A traditional meal may include fry bread, meat gravy, corn soup, squash, grape dumplings and strip meat soup. Some citizens remember eating a type of small potato growing in the area and water lilies, said to be good for the heart.

“About 100 years ago, I’m sure it was whatever rations were brought. That’s where it came from — rations from the federal government,” Hudgins said. “If it was 200 years ago, you wouldn’t have fry bread because we wouldn’t have oil.”

The 1920s era was one of melding the old traditions of the Osage citizens with new luxuries afforded by their wealth, such as Osage women wrapped in customary blankets sitting in expensive cars.

Flower Moon Filming (copy)

On May 24, shooting took place in Pawhuska for “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Osage citizens worked with the film crew to create authentic costumes.

The film crew created the facade of train station with a section of track. It’s something Standing Bear would like to see remain.

“We, as a nation, would take care of it as a memento of this,” said Standing Bear. “That’s something political leaders and the Osage Congress would want. It’s about having a good relationship with the movie.”

Reviving the Osage language has been a project of the nation for years, with no fluent speakers left. To strengthen the endangered language, the nation has created an immersion school, online and virtual platforms and other classes.

“For me, I remember going to dinner and it was all in Osage until about 1965,” said Standing Bear. “Then one day, it was all in English. It was fast. I’m trying to learn the language, but the kids now are getting really good at it.”

To make sure the Osage words are correct in the film, those who have mastered the language are on set, said Vann Bighorse, Osage Language Department director.

“They have been really respectful about coming to us,” Bighorse said. “They haven’t been making up their own gibberish. In the past, that’s probably what they did. They are wanting to be accurate about the language. They come to ask us about the translation.

“We still have our language; we still have our culture; we are still alive and well and have been able to overcome those things that happened in the ‘20s. It’s good for people to know on this worldwide platform that our language and our tribe are alive, and we’re still vibrant.”

Flower Moon Filming

 Leonardo DiCaprio films a scene for the movie based on the book, “Killers of the Flower Moon,” in Pawhuska.

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ginnie.graham@tulsaworld.com

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June 27, 2021 at 12:46PM
https://tulsaworld.com/lifestyles/magazine/see-us-as-people-osage-citizens-work-with-flower-moon-filmmakers-to-ensure-authenticity-accuracy/article_120109a6-b9a0-11eb-96ff-efd56267160a.html

'See us as people:' Osage citizens work with 'Flower Moon' filmmakers to ensure authenticity, accuracy - Tulsa World

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