Bloodland: A Family Story of Oil, Greed and Murder on the Osage Reservation [Illustrated] [Paperback]

Dennis McAuliffe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1999

In the 1920s, oil production on the Osage reservation transformed the tribe into the wealthiest population in the world. Strangers descended upon the region, courting and wedding young Osage women. Many of these new brides died mysteriously. In this searing memoir, journalist Dennis McAuliffe researches the death of his grandmother and realizes that his own grandfather may have engineered her death.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An informative, often poignant story of a suppressed chapter of American history-a kind of Native American Roots." -- Kirkus Reviews

"An intimate quest for identity, a fascinating real-life whodunit, and a shattering expose of another shameful episode in the painful history of U.S. and Indian relations." -- Booklist

"As a boy in the Oklahoma oil patch, I heard rumors of the atrocities committed against the Osages. Dennis McAuliffe's magnificent reporting job brings this terrible episode in American history vividly to life." -- Tony Hillerman

"It starts in the 19th century and takes a sharp turn in the 20th, one we have never taken in all the westerns that fill our movie screens... It is a western and a crime story, and it is history, not mythology." -- The New York Times

"McAuliffe has opened not only old family wounds but a national tragedy." --The Seattle Times

Book Description

Part murder mystery, part family memoir, & part spiritual journey, this book reveals many layers of greed & deception. Skillfully written by a seasoned Washington Post journalist, the book unearths family secrets & ultimately exposes a systematic murder plot. In the 1920's, oil was found on the Osage reservation, transforming the tribe into the wealthiest population in the world. Tribe members attended the most exclusive finishing schools, owned expensive automobiles, & dressed in the finest fashions of the era. Strangers descended upon the region, marrying Osage women in an attempt to gain control over the newfound wealth. Many of the new brides died mysteriously shortly after their weddings. The author's young & beautiful grandmother, Sybil Bolton, was among the last of the murdered brides. Eventually, the author is forced to suspect that his own grandfather engineered her murder. The term bloodland describes one's place of origin or homeland. While investigating his grandmother's life & death, the author undergoes a personal & spiritual renewal, finding an integrated identity as a mixed-blood Native American.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Council Oak Books (September 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1571780831
• ISBN-13: 978-1571780836
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #149,401 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #95 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Regional U.S. > South

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bloodland - Osage Reign of Terror, August 24, 2003

By 

Janet Littlecrow (Otoe-Missouria Reservation, Red Rock, OK United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bloodland: A Family Story of Oil, Greed and Murder on the Osage Reservation (Paperback)

This was a very well-written book, very close to accounts of those times in Osage country that I've heard from other Osage families. Dennis starts off his book as a typical middle-class white American, just researching old family stories and geneology. He begins to see things as an Indian, and realizes that his grandmother was one of the thousands of Indian victims of greed here in Oklahoma. Her murder, like so many others, was virtually ignored by the world. On several levels, his family story is the story of Indian Oklahoma. I applaud Dennis for his courage to continue his research, and to write the truth!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars We're Still Ashamed of Our Past, June 20, 2001

By 

Heather Miller (Minden, NV United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bloodland: A Family Story of Oil, Greed and Murder on the Osage Reservation (Paperback)

I originally bought this book because I thought it sounded like an interesting fiction. It quickly became obvious that it wasn't a fictional story at all, but rather another atrocity in American history that is only known through rumors and campfire stories. This book is a expert mix of personal obstacles for the author and unbiased historical documentation of an Osage tribe and its gift/curse of oil wealth. I doubt many people are strangers to the tales of Native abuses by whites, but I've asked many people if they've ever heard of the Osage murders at the turn of the century when oil was struck on their land. None had. This is a wonderfully wrought piece. I recommend it to anyone with a flare for history, the glorified as well as the darker chapters.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible, fascinating, May 23, 2000

By 

Dianna Johnston "Compulsive Reader" (Joplin, MO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bloodland: A Family Story of Oil, Greed and Murder on the Osage Reservation (Paperback)

I read this book with my book club members which culminated with a "speakerphone chat" with the author. I must say that this was a wonderful and powerful novel that gets the reader thinking. I am not an Indian, and I am ashamed to say I had no idea about the Reign of Terror or the prejudices felt by Indians of any tribe. This book opened my eyes. I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see how this true murder mystery was going to turn out. In the meantime, I got an awesome history lesson that I will never forget.