Mean Spirit

As the narrative progresses, there is a marked shift away from modernity—in the battle between Modernity and White Culture Versus Traditional Indigenous Practices, tradition seems to be winning. Many of the Osage have grown increasingly fearful that they and their land are under threat, as is evident in the wave of emigration from the town and its surrounding areas. Many Osage choose to move to the Hill Community, where they perceive a climate of increased tolerance and safety. In increasing numbers, the Osage are realizing that white society has never had their best interests at heart and that to be safe, secure, and respected by their neighbors, they need to remain in, or return to, traditional communities.

The tension between modernity and tradition is inextricable from The Exploitation of Indigenous People, Land, and Resources. To wit, Michael Horse moves back to the Hill Community when he is deemed incompetent to manage his own funds by the government. A new round of competency hearings has been organized, and few Osage people are left with access to their own bank accounts. Furthermore, those who are declared incompetent are provided with a network of lawyers and guardians, each of whom deducts fees from the Osage people whom they have been appointed to “protect,” leaving them in debt. This exploitative practice underscores that even when the Osage people are in the position to increase their own wealth through their oil holdings, they are preyed upon by white people in the government. There is also a deep-set racism behind the paternalistic belief that the Osage people, by virtue of their race, are not capable of managing their own money.

Nola also reckons with The Exploitation of Indigenous People, Land, and Resources. Although there is no indicator that Nola’s husband has married her for her money, Nola cannot fully trust Will because so many white men marry Osage women solely to profit from their oil holdings. When she finds out that his father has withdrawn a sizeable sum from her accounts, her fears seem to be confirmed. Nola is pregnant by this point in the narrative, and although she does not think that Will would kill her while she is carrying his child, she worries about the future. Although Will himself is not shown to have malign intentions, his father certainly does: He has already communicated to his son that Nola is “a paycheck” and has stolen her money. This shows how pervasive the anti-Osage sentiment was at this time, and how omnipresent the threat against Osage women with oil holdings was.

Stace Red Hawk has finally begun, with the help of Michael Horse and other members of the community, to understand the true scope of the Greed, Corruption, and Anti-Indigenous Racism in Watona. The extent to which he relies on the assistance of various Osage men and women demonstrates the power of community in Osage country and reflects Hogan’s own interest in pan-Indigenous community building. Although she has been criticized for over-representing the importance of pan-Indigenous community at the cost of realistic details about Osage life and culture, it is a particular interest of hers, and the character of Stace Red Hawk best embodies it in this text. Suspecting Hale, Stace and Levee hope that a local man named Luke will write a letter to the government about the crimes in the area. They are sure that the letter will be intercepted by some corrupt official and hope Hale will go after Luke. Although many in the Osage community have understood all along that corruption, greed, and racism are at the heart of the murders, it is only at this point in the story that anyone with authority begins to have proof that various officials in law enforcement and government are working together to conceal the murders.