The last book in the 2021 Alternative Reading List is Killers of the Flower Moon, by David Grann. This book is published by Vintage Books and was published in 2017.
This book tells the remarkable story of the murders of many people in Oklahoma in the 1920s, most of them Osage Indians. It recounts a story that has been mostly forgotten in American history, that involves the way the federal government treated the Osage as it moved them to land in Oklahoma that turned out to be rich in oil deposits, and the atrocities that were perpetrated because of the riches the Osage were then entitled to. It is also the story of the development of the FBI as an investigative force, and it asks questions about state and federal law enforcement that are still relevant today. And for lawyers, this book also tells a story about property and what can happen when the law does not properly safeguard property rights. This book is currently being turned into a movie, directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro.
This book was selected by Associate Dean Kristen Barnes. Dean Barnes is an Associate Dean for Faculty Research and Professor of Law. Dean Barnes teaches courses on Property, Housing Law, and Voting Rights Law. She received her B.A. in Political Science from Vassar College, J.D. from Harvard Law School, and Ph.D. in Literature from Duke University. Dean Barnes’s scholarship focuses on anti-discrimination and equality law, property, housing, education, constitutional law, and pensions. She has published articles in top law review journals including Duke Journal of Constitutional Law and Public Policy, Harvard Journal of Racial and Ethnic Justice, and Chicago-Kent Law Review.
The American Bar Foundation awarded Dean Barnes a residency as a visiting scholar for the 2019-2020 and 2018-2019 academic years. She has presented her work at numerous prestigious conferences such as the American Society of International Law Midyear Meeting, Harvard Law School’s Institute of Global Law and Policy Conference, the Association of Law, Property, and Society Annual Conference, Loyola Law School’s Constitutional Colloquium, and Fordham Law School’s International and Comparative Urban Law Conference.
Focus Questions:
These focus questions are intended to aid you in the active reading of David Grann’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” one of the books selected by the faculty of the Syracuse University College of Law to help prepare you for your time studying law. This book was chosen by Dean Kristen Barnes
The questions are written with the intention of helping you. You won’t be tested on your answers and you can feel free to read the book without them should you choose. And there aren’t any correct answers for these questions. It’s more important to question the text and reflect on what the answers might be than to seek for a definitive “correct” answer.
The questions are designed to model the process of active reading, which is a skill with which you should already be familiar. Active reading is a crucial skill for doing well in law school, and the more adept you become at it before you come to school, the better you will do during your time here. If you would like to learn more about active reading, there will be content discussing the topic in more depth on the Legal Writer’s Toolkit site.
You shouldn’t assume that these questions indicate a point of view or that they’re trying to steer you to answer them in a particular way. Rather, they’re intended to provoke you to think critically about what you read and to help you form your own conclusions, based on the information the author gives you about the topics discussed in the book.
We hope you enjoy “Killers of the Flower Moon”, and we look forward to meeting you and working with you over the course of the next few years.
CHAPTER ONE
- The author has a large story to tell and not much room to tell it in. How does he go about drawing you into the world of Osage Country in 1921? How much time did he take to explain why the Osage Indians there were so wealthy? Has he been effective in making you want to learn what happened next?
- Do you know what happened next? Do you know a lot about the facts the author is discussing in this book> A little? Nothing at all? Based on what you know now about the facts of this case, do you think this is a story that should be taught in schools?
CHAPTER TWO
- The author describes the tradition of citizens investigating crimes and maintaining order, and notes that the inquest in this case was conducted by a justice of the peace, another example of citizen-led justice. Are there any examples of that tradition remaining in the American legal system?
- This book describes Osage County in the first year of prohibition in this country. Contrast what the book tells you about life in Osage County with the images you have of America in the 1920s. Could similar contrasts be drawn today between urban and rural parts of the country?
CHAPTER THREE
- The author describes William Hale’s early life as a cowboy. Contrast the reality with the Hollywood image of a cowboy’s life or life in Oklahoma as portrayed in the musical “Oklahoma.” After reading this book, which image do you think will linger in your memory? Why?
CHAPTER FOUR
- Are you familiar with the “Little House on the Prairie” books or the television show based on them? Had you considered the story from the perspective of the Osage Indians? How many stories – fictional or drawn from real life – are there about the American west where the role of native people has been distorted or omitted?
- This book tells many stories at the same time. One of these is a story about property rights and how they were respected, or not, in Oklahoma in the early part of the Twentieth Century. As you read the book, try to reflect on the legal aspects of what you read from a property perspective. Have you yet seen mention of the Constitution? If not, why not? Were the Osage Indians entitled to Constitutional protection? Why are lawyers not intervening on their behalf to protect their property rights? What happens when a lawyer does become involved? Could any, or all, of this story be told about today?
CHAPTER FIVE
- The author describes the government’s decision to require guardians to manage the estate of many of the Osage. How do you feel about this decision? Are there any circumstances in which the government’s decision might be justified? Are there any circumstances in which you think the guardians might abuse their positions of trust?
CHAPTER SIX
- Had you heard of the Teapot Dome scandal? Did you know what it was about?
CHAPTER SEVEN
- As you reach the end of the first of the three sections of this book, how do you think the author has done in laying out the events? Has his approach been factual or sensationalist? Has his voice been present or has he hidden in the background and let the details speak for themselves? Do you think his approach has been effective? Has the author told the story thus far in a clear way or have you been confused by the narrative? Are there lessons in the author’s approach for legal writers?
CHAPTER EIGHT
- What did you know about the origins of the FBI? Are you surprised to learn that J. Edgar Hoover was involved at such an early time in the FBI’s history? What do you know about what the FBI does today?
CHAPTER NINE
- The author describes the importance of ignoring hearsay evidence in favor of an “unbroken chain of evidence.” How much evidence do we have about this case at the moment? Do you have suspicions about who might be behind the killings? Why the killings are happening? Do you see why those suspicions might be based on intuition rather than evidence, and why such intuitions might not be supported by the facts? Has the author, who knows how all of this will end up, given us enough facts to figure out who’s responsible? Or is the author being selective about the information he gives out in order to sustain our interest? Is he successful in that goal? Can legal writers use similar techniques or would that be considered unethical in the type of writing lawyers do?