Mean Spirit

“The act that offered allotments to the Indians, the Dawes Act, seemed generous at first glance so only a few people realized how much they were being tricked, since numerous tracts of unclaimed land became open property for white settlers, homesteaders, and ranchers.” 

This passage reflects the theme of Greed, Corruption, and Anti-Indigenous Racism. White people in the area had given the Osage people their land allotments based on their belief that the land was worthless. Although it had been advertised as a gift to Indigenous people from the government, it was actually a sign of anti-Indigenous racism.

“That morning he was sitting outside on a rock watching the fire. It was an important fire. It had descended from the coals of his ancestors.”

Michael Horse speaks these lines. There is a tension in this novel between traditional Indigenous culture and the changes brought to the Osage people by modernity and through contact with white culture. Several of the Osage characters embrace white culture, but others, like Michael, remain dedicated to traditional Osage cultural practices.

“The women were business investments. Another white man, when asked what he did for a living, said by way of an answer that he’d married an Osage woman, and everyone who listened understood what that meant, that he didn’t work; he lived off her money.”

This passage speaks both to the presence of anti-Indigenous racism in the community and to The Exploitation of Indigenous People, Land, and Resources. Osage women are often seen as desirable wives because marriage grants their husband access to their oil rights and money. Osage women are seen as a resource to be exploited rather than as human beings.

“There is a new law. All of the hill children under the age of 16 have to go to boarding school down in Custer, Oklahoma.”

This passage grounds the text within the history of the Indigenous experience in the United States. Part of the government’s assimilationist project was the creation of special boarding schools for Indigenous youth meant to teach the children white history, culture, beliefs, and values. These schools were notorious for abuse, and Ben’s school-induced trauma is representative of the experience of many children sent to these institutions.

“In half a year there had been 17 murders in just their small booming corner of Oklahoma.”

This passage gestures to the vast network of corrupt officials and practices that is behind the murders. Much of the narrative focuses around the Osage community’s attempt to connect the various crimes committed against them and to prove that an organized operation is targeting them. At the core of this corruption is an insidious anti-Indigenous racism and the belief that the lives of Indigenous people are inherently less valuable than those of white people.

“But even with such a spare tithe, the oil company owners resented having to pay the Indians for the use of their land, in spite of the fact that the Indians had purchased it for themselves.” 

This passage highlights the theme of Greed, Corruption, and Anti-Indigenous Racism. Even when they are not required to pay much for access to oil, white people still begrudge Indigenous land owners the little bit that they do have to pay. The greed that is evident here is ultimately responsible for many murders, which illustrates the interrelation of greed and prejudice.

“They were prepared for trouble, and they were tense, afraid of the dark people.”

This passage describes the mood in Watona on the day that oil lease money is paid out to the Osage people. There is palpable distrust between white and Osage individuals, and many white people are particularly dismissive of the Osage people. This passage speaks to the theme of Greed, Corruption, and Anti-Indigenous Racism in that it reflects the strong, anti-Indigenous sentiment that prevailed among white people in Oklahoma at that time.

“Earlier he had a terrible dream about an Osage man named John Thomas. In the dream, Thomas was shot beneath the famous auction tree in town, the tree where oil rights were going to be leased and bought and sold the next day.”

Dreams are a motif within the novel, and reflect the tension between traditional and modern ways of living. The Osage people are pulled in both directions, and individuals like Michael Horse remain connected to Indigenous tradition, while others, like Grace, prefer modernity.

“Louise had considered herself modern, she never paid attention to medicines the old people used for curing disease, but this was closer to home.”

This passage speaks to the theme of Modernity and White Culture Versus Traditional Indigenous Practices. Various characters embody either an appreciation for modernity or an interest in the preservation of traditional Indigenous values, and that conflict shapes life for the Osage people during the oil boom.

“She seems normal and even bright for an Indian girl.”

This passage is a chillingly accurate depiction of anti-Indigenous racism and shows that many white people thought Indigenous people to be less intelligent than their white counterparts. Here, although the woman feels as though she is paying a compliment, her comment is steeped in dehumanizing prejudice.

“Suddenly, he wanted the old ways back. He wanted the white people gone, wanted to turn time around as if it were the steering wheel of his roadster.”

This passage connects to the theme of Modernity and White Culture Versus Traditional Indigenous Practices. It illustrates the difficult tension between past and present, which becomes a challenge for many Osage characters to navigate. Even characters who embrace change find themselves interested in preserving tradition and in returning to traditional cultural practices at times.

“‘I already thought it out,’ Nola said. ‘Even if he’s crooked, I’m worth more to him if I’m alive.’”

That Nola is afraid her own husband will kill her for her money speaks to the pervasive nature of anti-Indigenous prejudice in the community of Watona. Many white men marry Osage women for their money and access to oil, and because so many of these women die under suspicious circumstances, a climate of fear overtakes the Osage community.

“He was sure he heard the words behind the bush. It was the sound of earth speaking. It was the deep and dreaming voice of land.”

There has been a large fire on the oil fields, and Michael, like many others, concludes that the land itself is tired of being used, angry about its own exploitation. Both the land and the Osage people are exploited in this text, and Hogan, an author deeply invested in environmentalist causes, wants to emphasize that the two forms of exploitation go hand in hand.

“She’s your paycheck.”

Mr. Forrest, Will’s father, speaks these lines to Will about Nola, after Will notices that his father had removed some of her money from the accounts. Mr. Forrest is her financial guardian, and is thus able to move her money as he sees fit. This exploitative system is a real historical detail, and it shows how both individuals and the government used the Osage people for their money and denied them the right to manage their own affairs.

“Some of the young people made fun of her. They were embarrassed by the old ways and believed that the old people were superstitious.”

This passage speaks to the theme of Modernity and White Culture Versus Traditional Indigenous Practices. There is a tension in the Osage community between “old” and “modern,” and Belle’s character embodies an older way of life, one still embedded within the traditions of Osage culture.

“That spring, nearly all the full-blooded Indians were deemed incompetent by the court’s competency commission. Mixed bloods, who were considered competent, were already disqualified from receiving full payments because of their white blood.”

This passage, which describes the financial guardianship system, is historically accurate and grounds the novel within the real-life history that it depicts. Governmental policy toward Indigenous peoples has been, in an overwhelming majority of cases, paternalistic, assimilationist, and racist. Here, Indigenous people are deemed unfit to manage their own money—in part because the government wants access to some of the profits (in the form of legal and other fees) and in part because of racist, anti-Indigenous bias.

“This isn’t the business of just a few murders. It’s larger, too large for us to see.”

This passage speaks to the wide network of collusion and corruption that made the murders possible and covered them up. Here, too, the author underscores the systemic nature of racism and prejudice, for the Osage murders were not the work of a few racist individuals, but rather an entire racist system, the goal of which was the oppression, and in some cases murder, of Indigenous people.

“And her old fears returned and again she suspected her young husband. She believed he would murder her one day. Not while she was pregnant. The child would safeguard her. Or maybe he would wait for another child, as others had done.”

The marriage of Osage women for their money and the danger that this placed many women in is a major piece of this novel. Hogan makes clear how widespread the practice was through the representation of so many different female characters are shown to be targeted by this organized scheme.

“But as soon as the words were out of my mouth I know, in my body, that the sheriff knew something.”

This passage alludes to the vast network of corruption behind both the murders and their coverups. Although many of the Osage people initially hope that the sheriff would help them, he is ultimately revealed to be part of the conspiracy. As this plot development suggests, the most insidious form of racism in America is systemic rather than situational: It is not one or two bad actors who harm the Osage community in this novel, but rather a whole group of people working together.

“I think the dentist is their cover, or partly anyway.”

This passage shows how thoroughly corrupt the white population and government is in Watona. It is not only the powerful businesspeople and the sheriff who are complicit in the murders, but locals like the dentist who are willing to lie for men like Gold and Hale. This kind of representation emphasizes that racism is not about individual acts of prejudice, but rather about a system that is designed to protect those in power and shield them from prosecution for crimes committed against marginalized members of society.

“‘It was the sheriff,’ said Moses in disbelief. ‘It was Jess who shot Belle.’”

After Belle is shot, her bees swarm up to attack her shooter. When that man is revealed as none other than the sheriff, the Graycloud family has confirmation that he is involved in the Osage murders and has been part of the conspiracy all along. Conspiracy is a major thematic interest in this text, underscoring that the way that white characters protect and collude with one another is just as dangerous as their original crimes.

“Louise walked beside the wagon. Her face had taken on an expression of strength and resolve. There was no question for her about who she was or which people she was bound to. Almost overnight she’d given up the white world. She wore her traditional clothing, leggings, and blue-beaded moccasins.”

This passage speaks to the tension between traditional Osage practices and modernity navigated by many of the characters. Nola is a dynamic character, and her interest in tradition shifts throughout the course of the narrative. Ultimately, she rejects white culture and returns to her roots.

“Across the land, oil derricks numbered as many and as far as the eye could see.”

This passage exemplifies the use of oil as a motif. Oil money is the cause of both newfound wealth for the Osage people and increased danger in the community. Many Osage people were murdered over their oil rights, and oil as a motif thus speaks to both the changes brought about by development, industry, and modernity, and the danger that such forces pose to Indigenous communities.