Osage Indian Murders - Between 1921 and 1923 over a dozen^* people on the Osage Indian Reservation died under suspicious circumstances. The Federal Bureau of Investigation became involved after the Department of Interior wrote to Director William J. Burns requesting assistance in investigating these deaths. William "King of Osage" Hale was suspected of being involved in the deaths. Posing as medicine men, cattlemen, and salesman, FBI agents infiltrated the reservation and eventually solved the murders. Hale and other members of the Osage Nation were convicted of the murders and sentenced to life in prison. The murders were committed in an attempt to collect insurance money and gain control of valuable oil properties owned by the deceased persons.

Native American history | History of Oklahoma