OKLAHOMA CITY – With the release of “Killers of the Flower Moon,” questions remain about the ability of Oklahoma schools to teach the historical events depicted in the film.
The source of the uncertainty is House Bill 1775, a 2021 state law that regulates classroom discussions about race and gender.
Tribal leaders have called on the state legislature to repeal the law, citing widespread confusion and fear among educators who fear that teaching unvarnished American and Native history could put them at risk. Educators could lose their teaching licenses and schools could face accreditation sanctions if found in violation of HB 1775.
Former Osage Nation Principal Chief Jim Gray pointed to a Dewey High School teacher who said last year she decided not to assign the book “Killers of the Flower Moon” to her students because she feared that discussing the racial dynamics of the Osage murders could trigger a complaint under HB 1775.
“We’re in a very interesting political dynamic where, on the one hand, you have the state of Oklahoma promoting this film because they gave tax credits to the filmmaker, while at the same time the content of the story is not appropriate to be taught in public schools,” Gray said.
Conflicts with the law
“Killers of the Flower Moon describes true events in 1920s Oklahoma, when wealthy members of the Osage Nation were systematically killed by non-natives seeking the tribe’s oil rights. Author David Grann’s book became a New York Times bestseller, and the film adaptation, directed by Martin Scorsese, stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone and Robert De Niro.
In northeastern Oklahoma, concerns about HB 1775 haven’t stopped Bartlesville High School from covering Osage history in the school’s Native American studies, Oklahoma history and Osage language classes. The school’s principal, Michael Harp, an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, said his teachers focus on state academic standards that require them to teach about the Native experience.
“I’m not sure it has stopped anyone from teaching what they want to teach, but I think there is definitely a heightened concern because of this House bill,” Harp said.
Concerned that teaching about the Osage killings and other Native history could be in jeopardy, the Osage Nation Congress and an intertribal council of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee and Seminole nations passed resolutions urging state lawmakers to repeal HB 1775.
Many have complained that the law is too vague, particularly a section that prohibits schools from instructing students to feel guilty or uncomfortable because of their race or gender.
The Oklahoma State Board of Education downgraded Mustang Public Schools’ accreditation last year after a student reported feeling uncomfortable during a leadership exercise, although the complaint did not allege that a teacher told the student to feel that way. The activity involved asking students if any of them had experienced discrimination.
Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell suggested that the legislature define the law more clearly. He said he told the author of HB 1775, Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, that a one-page statement could clarify that it’s safe for teachers to discuss the Osage Reign of Terror, the Tulsa Race Massacre and other difficult events in Oklahoma history.
“That history should be taught; the race massacre should be taught,” Pinnell said. “They need to define (that) somewhere on paper so that something can be sent to our school districts so they know those guidelines.”
West said the law is already clear about what concepts schools can’t teach. It doesn’t prohibit students from feeling uncomfortable, but it does prohibit teachers from telling students “that they should feel a certain way,” he said.
Lawsuit filed
Discussions of difficult history, he said, can and should still take place in classrooms.
“You can have those conversations, and some of them get very difficult, but it’s all about how it’s presented and how it’s applied,” West said.
A lawsuit in federal court in Oklahoma City seeks to overturn the law.
A group of students, local advocates and college professors filed the case two years ago with the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma. They claim that HB 1775 has a chilling effect on teachers and students and encourages schools to exclude books that depict diverse identities and experiences.
There has been little movement in the lawsuit over the past two years. The judge assigned to the case has yet to issue even a preliminary ruling. ACLU lawyers have filed a motion for expedited consideration, essentially asking the judge to make a decision.
The harm from the law will continue the longer the delay goes on,” said Adam Hines, a staff attorney with the ACLU of Oklahoma.
“Students are losing the opportunity to understand their history, and in Oklahoma that history includes the Tulsa Race Massacre, the theft of tribal lands (and) a long history of missing and murdered Native women,” Hines said. “The longer this delay goes on, the more our students, and by extension our state, will suffer.”