Question

What does it mean when Grann says the Osage had the first-ever "underground reservation"?

Answer 1

The meaning of David Grann's statement that the Osage had the first-ever "underground reservation" is that the Osage tribe was able to secure the head-rights in the mineral resources in their territory through careful and visionary negotiations with the U.S. Government.

• The Osage could sell off their allotted land but the head-rights to the underground mineral resources were not up for sale but can only be transferred through inheritance.

• Based on Grann's "Killers of the Flower Moon," which is an Osage saying, the Osage tribe appeared to be the only Native American tribe that negotiated favorably with the government to secure the future of their rights with regard to the mineral resources in their area.

Thus, David Grann could rightly say that the Osage had the first-ever "underground reservation" in his "Killers of the Flower Moon" because of the Osage's share in the tribe’s mineral trust that they secured for themselves.

Read more about David Grann's "Killers of the Flower Moon" at brainly.com/question/18030904