“Killers of the Flower Moon” gets shut out at the Oscars

Written By: Shayln Proctor 

(OSAGE NATION)This year’s 2024 Academy of Arts and Sciences Award Show Ceremony proved to be a historic one for the Indigenous artists nominated for the first time in their respective categories. It was also one where none of the nominated Indigenous artists took home an Oscar statue for their work. “Killers of the Flower Moon”, the Martin Scorcese-directed movie about the Osage Reign of Terror was nominated in ten categories but did not receive one award. One of the many audiences watching the award show included the Osage Community in Pawhuska. Osage News and the Indigenous-owned media outlet Verified News Network partnered together to host an Oscar Watch Party at the Osage Casino on March 10.

Read this article on Mvskoke Media here. 

“Killers of Killers of the Flower Moon” actress Lily Gladstone (Kainai/Amskapi Piikani and Nimíipuu/Blackfeet) was up for Best Lead Actress, the first Native American to be nominated in the category. Gladstone lost to Emma Stone for her performance in the movie “Poor Things”. The song “Wazhazhe (A Song For My People)” by Osage singer Scott George was up for Best Original Song. George was the first Native American to be nominated in this category as well, but lost to Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell’s “What Was I Made For?” from the movie “Barbie”. Although George did not take home a statue, he and the Osage Singers performed “Wazhazhe (A Song For My People)” with traditional dancers.

CEO and President of Verified News Network (VNN) Kelly Tidwell (Mvskoke/Cherokee) co-founded VNN in 2018. This marks the second watch party the organization has hosted with Osage News, the first one being this year’s Golden Globes Award Ceremony. The sold-out Oscar Watch Party was limited to ages 21 and older and saw 230 people attend. Tidwell reported that most watch party goers appeared to have a good time fellowshiping and watching the results of the award ceremony together. Tidwell was excited to co-host the event with his wife and VNN cofounder Brittany Harlow. 

Osage News Editor Shannon Shaw Duty was on the red carpet at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood interviewing the stars of the ceremony. According to Tidwell, back at home the Osage watch party concluded their evening with fireworks.

Tidwell helped with media setup which involved a projector and big screen to use during Shaw Duty’s broadcast. Although Tidwell is not Osage himself, he was proud of the Native American representation that was featured at this year’s award ceremony.

“I enjoy the Osage singers and dance performances the most. Being there with some of our Native people as Native culture, took the stage at Hollywood’s biggest night. It was really great to see everyone’s reaction,” Tidwell said.

Although “Killers of the Flower Moon” did not bring home any golden statues, Tidwell was just happy to see all of the Indigenous artists’ work recognized; particularly Lily Gladstone.

“I think this year was more important to watch due to the empowerment of Native people and their recognition of Native talent. We are normally overlooked in favor of other groups, which it’s really wonderful to see a familiar face on stage,” Tidwell said.

“Just being acknowledged was a big win for our community but I’m very grateful for that at the very least that we still got that acknowledgement. It’s hard to act like we don’t exist, we are right there on center stage. Being present is very good to see,” Tidwell said.

This year’s Oscars proved to be inspirational for Tidwell and Indian Country, even if it did not produce the result they were hoping for.

“I think it really helps our community members to think big to know they can make the big screen and Hollywood films like this and even a small screen like Reservation Dogs, to know that we belong. We’re here, we’re not going anywhere. We’re getting bigger and becoming more of a force,” Tidwell said.

Tidwell remarked that he was grateful for the partnership with the Osage Nation and the American Indian Chamber of Commerce. VNN hopes to host more watch parties in the future for big award ceremonies with Native American nominees.