Bloodland: A Family Story of Oil, Greed and Murder on the Osage Reservation | 
 enlarge | Author: Dennis Mcauliffe
Publisher: Council Oak Books
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
Buy Used: $5.48
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Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 727770
Format: Illustrated
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 572
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.1 x 0.9
ISBN: 1571780831
Dewey Decimal Number: 976.60049752
EAN: 9781571780836
ASIN: 1571780831
Publication Date: September 1, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Withdrawn Library copy with customary markings; No writing within text;Ships within hours from Charleston, SC. Established seller with nearly 10 years of online history.
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Product Description
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.
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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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
Bloodland: A Family Story of Oil, Greed and Murder on the Osage Reservation August 1, 2007
I was delighted to find this book on the market. I lived in Osage County for 18 months in the late 1950's. I was in the oil business and supervised drilling wells and producing properties all over the the County(Reservation). I heard many oral reports of how the Osages were miss treated, especially in the teens and the 1920's. I visited the Osage Agency offices in Pawhuska from time to time. I now appreciate the beauty of the countryside and the intelligence of the Osage Tribe. I think Mr McAulffe did an outstanding job in researching his grandmother's life and reviewing the history of the Osage Tribe in Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma. I made friends with the Osages I met and understand, by having known them, what it means to be an Osage. Mr. McAuliffe made it plain why this Tribe became wealthy through their negotiating skills with the The Great White Father's agents. I understand why Mr. McAuliff is proud to be an Osage.
 Bloodland - Osage Reign of Terror August 24, 2003
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
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!
A very disturbing tale January 29, 2003
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This was a very riveting book. I wasn't too sure how much I'd enjoy it when I started. . . it seemed at first like the author was simply out to trash white people. Maybe that was my own guard going up. . . I don't know.Regardless, this turned out to be a very good book. The author finds out late in life that his grandmother committed suicide. As he investigates his family history, it turns out she was murdered, instead. This all happened in the "Reign of Terror," a time back in the 1910's and 1920's in which literally hundreds of Osage Indians were murdered for their land and money (they had recently become quite rich because of the discovery of oil). McAullife's grandmother was caught up in this terrible tragedy. At times I found it hard to follow who the author was talking about. Fortunately, the front of the book contains the author's family tree--this was very useful at times in helping me figure out who was related to whom. This book tells about a shameful time during our state's (and nation's) history. It is worth reading, if for no other reason that we won't repeat our mistakes.
We're Still Ashamed of Our Past June 20, 2001
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
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.
Incredible, fascinating May 23, 2000
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
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.
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