The acclaimed movie Killers of the Flower Moon has brought renewed attention to the tragic Osage Nation murders in the 1920s. While the film focuses on figures like Ernest Burkhart and William Hale, a less explored but equally significant aspect involves the Drummond family, whose history intertwines with this dark period and the rise of the “Pioneer Woman” empire. The Drummonds, ancestors of celebrity chef Ree Drummond, built their Oklahoma ranching empire during this era, a time marked by the systematic exploitation of the oil-rich Osage Nation. Understanding this history is crucial to fully grasping the complexities of the “Reign of Terror” and its lasting impact.
One of the key mechanisms of exploitation was the guardianship system. Ostensibly designed to protect Osage individuals deemed “incompetent” to manage their oil wealth, it often became a tool for white guardians to enrich themselves at the expense of their Osage wards. As historian Diana Adams-Heard explains on the In Trust podcast, these guardians frequently engaged in “crooked deals,” sometimes even operating as merchants themselves, creating a cycle of debt and dependency for Osage headright holders. The Hominy Trading Company, for example, allegedly charged exorbitant prices, pushing Osage individuals into debt, making them vulnerable to exploitative offers from their guardians. These guardians would propose a “bailout”: sell or trade your valuable land allotment, and we’ll erase your debt. While transferring headrights, the rights to Osage oil royalties, involved complex federal processes, selling land allotments to one’s guardian, the very person meant to oversee fair transactions, was disturbingly simple.
Everett Waller, the chairman of the Osage Nation’s mineral council and a figure in Killers of the Flower Moon, portrays Paul Red Eagle in the film. He describes the guardianship program and its associated schemes unequivocally as “corruption.” Waller, living near Ree Drummond’s Pawhuska ranch, offers a critical perspective on the Drummond family’s land acquisitions during the Reign of Terror. While modern Drummond family members, as reported by In Trust, depict their ancestors as honorable businessmen who fairly purchased their land and maintained positive relationships with their Osage neighbors, Waller remains skeptical. He points to the sheer scale of the Drummond land holdings – over a quarter million acres – as evidence exceeding mere “lucrative business,” suggesting a more opportunistic acquisition strategy during a vulnerable period for the Osage Nation. Neither Ree Drummond, who married into the Drummond family in 1996, nor other Drummond family members responded to Vanity Fair’s requests for comment on these historical issues.
Myron Red Eagle, a colleague of Waller on the mineral council, has a family history that further illustrates this exploitation. In 1934, Myron Bangs Jr., a member of the Osage tribe under guardianship of the Drummond brothers, hired an independent auditor to scrutinize his finances. The audit report, as Adams-Heard revealed on her podcast, detailed “discrepancies or issues” spanning five pages, indicating potential financial mismanagement or malfeasance. Bangs Jr. submitted this report to the federal government, leading to a 1941 lawsuit against the Drummond brothers. The US government alleged a “conspiracy and scheme to defraud” Bangs. However, the case was ultimately dismissed by a federal judge, highlighting the challenges in holding powerful figures accountable during this era.
Adams-Heard’s research also uncovered a disturbing detail: the Drummonds allegedly borrowed $15,000 from Bangs Jr.’s funds without his explicit consent. This money was used to purchase William Hale’s ranch as Hale was being imprisoned for his role in the Osage murders. Adams-Heard expressed to Slate the striking irony of Bangs’s money potentially being used to purchase land from a man convicted of involvement in the murders of Osage people. This revelation adds another layer of complexity to the Drummond family’s historical narrative within the context of the “Killers of the Flower Moon” era and the broader exploitation of the Osage Nation, a history that continues to resonate today, even with the fame of the “Pioneer Woman” brand.
