A postcolonial reading of david grann's killers of the flower moon

Abstract

David Grann’s Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI (2017) revisits a significant yet an overlooked episode in American history: the systematic murders and exploitation of the Osage Nation during the 1920s, when they were the wealthiest people per capita in the world. This dissertation explores how the book reveals the deep impact of colonialism through the themes of otherness, silence, and resistance. Based on postcolonial theory, particularly the works of Edward Said and Gayatri Spivak, this research examines how the trustee system established by the U.S. government acted as a tool of control, silencing the exploitation of Indigenous peoples, rooted in colonial history and racial discrimination. Through this perspective, the research examines the long-lasting effects of settler colonialism and its function in transforming success into tragedy for the Osage.