The Osage Nation and its people have already won.
On Jan. 23, actors Zazie Beetz and Jack Quaid announced the 96th Academy Award nominations with “Killers of the Flower Moon” receiving 10 nominations. Among the nominees were Lily Gladstone and Scott George, making history as the first Native Americans nominated for an Oscar in their respective categories of Best Actress and Best Original Song.
Osage Nation Congressman Billy Keene posted this message on his Facebook page: “Lots of Osages know when Scott George leads a song, he’s got a real strong voice. Those songs are comforting to us. In March, on a stage with over 20 million tuning in all across the world, the world will see Osages with keen ribbon work across their jackets and broadcloth ties called out. We’ll hope and pray they win the Oscar but they’ve already won.
“They’ve won, we’ve won, because after all the attention dies down, there’s no more film festivals, and the photo ops cease, we’ll still be Osage and those singers will still sing them songs, and we’ll never stop.”
While George was at home getting ready for work when he received the news of his nomination, Gladstone was facetiming with her mother and father from the Osage Reservation.
“I got on the phone with my folks, so I was facetiming with them. I wanted to be here, it feels right being here,” Gladstone said in a phone interview, who was having lunch in Pawhuska at the time. “It’s funny, my mom did the natural thing, probably what I would have done, she wanted me to see what they were seeing so she pointed the camera at the TV. I said ‘Mom, I can barely read that through your screen. Flip it around, I want to see your and dad’s reaction.’ And that’s how I found out. It definitely made me cry. I didn’t think I was going to cry but watching how my parents reacted, it made me cry.”
Nominations are selected by Academy members from each of the 18 branches who vote to determine the nominees in their respective categories – actors nominate actors, film editors nominate film editors, etc. All voting members are eligible to select the Best Picture nominees. According to the Academy, voter participation this year was at an all-time high, with members submitting ballots from a record 93 countries.
Active members of the Academy are eligible to vote for the winners in all 23 categories beginning Thursday, Feb. 22, through Tuesday, Feb. 27.
Gladstone congratulated Scott George on his nomination.
“Congratulations to Scott George! You guys [the Osage Nation] have a ‘first’ too, first nominee for Original Song is an Osage man. The first Native nominee, that feels so good,” Gladstone said. “You know, I got to carry this story that ultimately belongs to the Osage people. It belongs to Margie [Burkhart], it belongs to Billie [Ponca], and to all of her [Mollie Burkhart’s] descendants. Everybody that was touched by the Reign of Terror.
“The resiliency and unity in this community is really moving. You know, it’s incredible to see that, feel that, and be a small part of it. But it just feels right that you all [Osage people] can celebrate as Wahzhazhe as one of your own has a historic nomination today too. That’s such an honor to get to stand beside him with that.”
The 96th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and will be televised live on ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide.
For a complete list of nominees, visit the official Oscars website, www.oscar.com.
“Killers of the Flower Moon” received the following 10 nominations:
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
- Sterling K. Brown in “American Fiction”
- Robert De Niro in “Killers of the Flower Moon”
- Robert Downey Jr. in “Oppenheimer”
- Ryan Gosling in “Barbie”
- Mark Ruffalo in “Poor Things”
Achievement in costume design
- “Barbie” Jacqueline Durran
- “Killers of the Flower Moon” Jacqueline West
- “Napoleon” Janty Yates and Dave Crossman
- “Oppenheimer” Ellen Mirojnick
- “Poor Things” Holly Waddington
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
- “The Fire Inside” from “Flamin’ Hot”
Music and Lyric by Diane Warren - “I’m Just Ken” from “Barbie”
Music and Lyric by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt - “It Never Went Away” from “American Symphony”
Music and Lyric by Jon Batiste and Dan Wilson - “Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People)” from “Killers of the Flower Moon”
Music and Lyric by Scott George - “What Was I Made For?” from “Barbie”
Music and Lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
- “American Fiction” Laura Karpman
- “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” John Williams
- “Killers of the Flower Moon” Robbie Robertson
- “Oppenheimer” Ludwig Göransson
- “Poor Things” Jerskin Fendrix
Achievement in production design
- “Barbie” Production Design: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
- “Killers of the Flower Moon” Production Design: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Adam Willis
- “Napoleon” Production Design: Arthur Max; Set Decoration: Elli Griff
- “Oppenheimer” Production Design: Ruth De Jong; Set Decoration: Claire Kaufman
- “Poor Things” Production Design: James Price and Shona Heath; Set Decoration: Zsuzsa Mihalek
Achievement in film editing
- “Anatomy of a Fall” Laurent Sénéchal
- “The Holdovers” Kevin Tent
- “Killers of the Flower Moon” Thelma Schoonmaker
- “Oppenheimer” Jennifer Lame
- “Poor Things” Yorgos Mavropsaridis
Achievement in cinematography
- “El Conde” Edward Lachman
- “Killers of the Flower Moon” Rodrigo Prieto
- “Maestro” Matthew Libatique
- “Oppenheimer” Hoyte van Hoytema
- “Poor Things” Robbie Ryan
Performance by an actress in a leading role
- Annette Bening in “Nyad”
- Lily Gladstone in “Killers of the Flower Moon”
- Sandra Hüller in “Anatomy of a Fall”
- Carey Mulligan in “Maestro”
- Emma Stone in “Poor Things”
Achievement in directing
- “Anatomy of a Fall” Justine Triet
- “Killers of the Flower Moon” Martin Scorsese
- “Oppenheimer” Christopher Nolan
- “Poor Things” Yorgos Lanthimos
- “The Zone of Interest” Jonathan Glazer
Best motion picture of the year
- “American Fiction” Ben LeClair, Nikos Karamigios, Cord Jefferson and Jermaine Johnson, Producers
- “Anatomy of a Fall” Marie-Ange Luciani and David Thion, Producers
- “Barbie” David Heyman, Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley and Robbie Brenner, Producers
- “The Holdovers” Mark Johnson, Producer
- “Killers of the Flower Moon” Dan Friedkin, Bradley Thomas, Martin Scorsese and Daniel Lupi, Producers
- “Maestro” Bradley Cooper, Steven Spielberg, Fred Berner, Amy Durning and Kristie Macosko Krieger, Producers
- “Oppenheimer” Emma Thomas, Charles Roven and Christopher Nolan, Producers
- “Past Lives” David Hinojosa, Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler, Producers
- “Poor Things” Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone, Producers
- “The Zone of Interest” James Wilson, Producer
