Oklahoma Christian University will be hosting David Grann, best selling author of “Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI.” Grann will join a panel of speakers including Osage Nation Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear, Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby and OKC FBI Agent in charge, Edward Gray.
The panel will be held in Judd Theatre at 4 p.m. followed by a solo lecture from Grann in Baugh Auditorium at 7 p.m. on Oct. 17. Tickets are free, but must be reserved at www.oc.edu/events.
“The community response has been excellent — 900 reserved seats in the first 48 hours — so we’re encouraging all Oklahoma Christian community members to reserve their seats,” Scott LaMascus, Director of the McBride Center for Humanities, said. “The 4 o’clock panel will be especially educational. It will be a conversation you don’t want to miss!”
LaMascus discussed how the speakers were chosen this year.
“Like previous events commemorating the Tulsa Massacre, exploring criminal justice reform, or hosting the Enron whistleblower, among others, this year’s guests are people worth listening to and who have a stake in this story,” LaMascus said. “It is a tale of greed, murder, tragedy and darkness that too long has been ignored and forgotten.”
Chancellor John deSteiguer played a key role in bringing the speakers to campus.
“It’s a little bit magical that it’s coming together like it is. ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ is a really compelling, gripping story about powerful people who took advantage of people without much power,” deSteiguer said.
LaMascus shared the heart behind the ongoing lecture series.
“We have a chance to be compassionate neighbors, to listen, to learn and to hopefully find restorative pathways together into a better future,” LaMascus said. “That’s what the McBride Center and Millican Ethics Symposium at Oklahoma Christian are all about, and students have free, front row seats on it all.”
deSteiguer shared his excitement for the event.
“I would love for all of our students to study hard up until 3:55 p.m., then come over to the panel, because this is going to make a difference for them,” deSteiguer said.
Grann’s book will make its way to the big screen in a movie adaptation set to release Oct. 20.
Oklahoma Christian students will be invited to RSVP for a special screening of the film “Killers of the Flower Moon” starring Leonardo Dicaprio and Lily Gladstone. Co-sponsored by the Honors Advisory Council and Student Life, the screening will take place after fall break.
Sponsors for the lecture series include: the Chickasaw Nation, McBride Center for Public Humanities, George Kaiser Family Foundation, JJ Millican Ethics Symposium, Oklahoma Humanities through the “United We Stand” initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and Gene Rainbolt.
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