Can Osage Citizens Revive Fairfax?

Killers of the Flower Moon, a new film directed by Martin Scorcese based on the bestselling book of the same name, tells the story of how greed and profound injustice took the lives of so many Osage. The film has helped people like Damon Waters, an Osage filmmaker and actor reconnect with his roots and imagine a different future for Fairfax, Okla., where the film takes place. Damon joins us to discuss the impact the film had on him and his upcoming documentary about the restoration of Tall Chief Theater.

We also hear from Allison Herrera, KOSU’s Indigenous affairs reporter, who brings us a note from Fairfax. We’ll meet Joe and Carol Conner and learn about their efforts to restore the historic Tall Chief Theater in downtown Fairfax. Joe, who is Osage, hopes that the attention brought by the film will get more people to invest money in Fairfax.

To learn more about the systemic issues that caused the murders of so many Osage, listen to more of Allison Herrera’s reporting for the podcast In Trust.

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“Notes from America” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. Tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on notesfromamerica.org.