Ep. 48 - Charles H. Red Corn’s Novel Elevates Osage Culture in KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Talee Redcorn in KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON Photo: Apple
“It was just magical to see what dad wrote come to life.”
Dr. Moira RedCorn
“My dad’s book helped KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON have color to it.”
Yancey Red Corn
In Episode 48 we talk about the film KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON with Dr. Moira RedCorn and her brother Yancey Red Corn, members of the Osage Nation.
Yancey Red Corn appears in the Martin Scorsese film as Osage Chief Arthur Bonnicastle and Moira Red Corn was an extra in the film.
Yancey Red Corn seated right (front row) in KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON Photo credit: Apple
Yancy and Moira’s father, the late Charles H. Red Corn, authored the novel, A Pipe for February, released by the University of Oklahoma Press over 10 years before David Grann’s non-fiction book Killers of the Flower Moon.
We talk with Moira and Yancey about the impact of the film KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON, and Charles H. Red Corn’s novel, A Pipe for February, in telling the history of the Osage and the “reign of terror” in the 1920s.
We also talk with Moira and Yancey about...
Transmitting Osage culture and traditions
Duel Identity
Oklahoma state bill (HB 1775) and teaching Osage history
...and more
Guests: Dr. Moira RedCorn and Yancey Red Corn
Moira RedCorn and Yancey Red Corn are the son and daughter of the late Charles H. Red Corn, author of A Pipe for February and artist Jereldine C. “Jeri” Redcorn, who was inducted in the National Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2022. Photos of Jeri Redcorn’s traditional Caddo pottery can be found on the Department of Interior’s website. Photo taken on location for KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON.
Moira RedCorn recording her father’s book A Pipe for February. Photo courtesy of Moira RedCorn and Yancey Red Corn
MOIRA REDCORN
Dr. Moira RedCorn is a staff psychiatrist at the Oklahoma City Indian Clinic, and an artist with a degree in visual studies from Dartmouth College and a medical degree from the Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences.
Moira’s art mediums include painting, printmaking and multiple self-taught mediums including sewing, leather work, woodworking, beadwork, and silversmithing. She’s a former member of the national women's rugby team, The Eagles. After retirement from rugby, Moira played roller derby with the Oklahoma Victory Dolls. She lives in the Osage with husband Bill Nunez, cat Hazel, and mastiff Pumpkin.
YANCY RED CORN
Yancey Red Corn, portrays Chief Arthur Bonnicastle, Chief of the Osage Nation during the 1920s, in the film KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON.
Yancey Red Corn is a Name Giver in his Osage Peace Maker Clan, a right passed down by his father who received the right from Wakon Iron whose other name is George Red Corn. George Red Corn was the younger brother of Yancey’s great grand-father Raymond Red Corn Senior. Raymond Red Corn was murdered by poisoning during the reign of terror.
Yancey Red Corn also appears as “Preacher Paul” in the final season of the FX series, RESERVATION DOGS, produced by Taika Waititi and directed by Sterlin Harjo.
Yancey Red Corn was a member of the University of Oklahoma Rugby Team in his undergraduate days, and achieved a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Oklahoma. He later continued his studies, specializing in Federal Indian Law at the University of Oklahoma College of Law.
Connect with Yancey Red Corn: Instagram | Threads | X/formerly Twitter | Facebook
SHOP THE PODCAST
SHOP THE PODCAST
A Pipe for February by Charles H. Red Corn is available in our affiliate bookstore on bookshop[dot]org.
“A Pipe for February is an extraordinary novel: evocative, riveting, moving. Charles Red Corn illuminates what the Osage people went through during the 1920s, when oil profits had made them fabulously wealthy and when they began to die under mysterious circumstances, systematically targeted for their money. This novel, exquisitely written and filled with revelations, will hold you in its grip and never let you go.” — David Grann, author of Killers of the Flower Moon
You can also purchase Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann and MORE book titles related to this and past podcasts on the MBGLtd affiliate page on bookshop.org. Your book purchases support production of the Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters podcast with a small commission and independent booksellers.
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON official trailer
Directed by Martin Scorsese, KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON is based on journalist David Grann’s best selling non-fiction book of the same title about the “reign of terror,” a grim chapter in American history.
In 1920s Oklahoma the discovery of oil on the Osage land makes the members of the Osage enormously wealthy overnight. But their lives become a nightmare when Osage members mysteriously die one by one. Suspicion falls on a ruthless cattleman, William Hale (Robert De Niro), who is desperate to steal their wealth. The powerful and overbearing Hale enlists his nephew Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo diCaprio) to pursue and marry Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone). Mollie is a fiercely independent Osage woman fighting for her family’s survival. Hale convinces his nephew to carry out a plot to kill members of Mollie’s family and acquire the head rights to their wealth.
The newly formed Federal Bureau of Investigation sends Tom White, an incorruptible former Texas Ranger (Jesse Plemons), to Oklahoma to unmask the killer in a web of conspiracy. White embarks on a dangerous quest for justice against a backdrop of greed, betrayal, and the fight for survival.
In addition to Gladstone, di Caprio, De Niro, Plemons and Yancey Red Corn, KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON’s cast includes Tantoo Cardinal, John Lithgow, and Brendan Fraser. KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON is nominated for 10 Academy Awards™ including Best Actress for Golden Globe winner Lily Gladstone, Best Costume Design (Jacqueline West), Best Editing (Thelma Schoonmaker), Best Original Song (Scott George), Best Director (Martin Scorsese), and Best Picture.