The acknowl­edg­ments sec­tion of the book reflects the author’s pro­found appre­ci­a­tion for the many indi­vid­u­als, com­mu­ni­ties, and insti­tu­tions that con­tributed to the research, writ­ing, and com­ple­tion of the project. At the fore­front of this grat­i­tude is the Osage Nation, whose mem­bers gen­er­ous­ly shared their his­to­ries, per­son­al sto­ries, and cul­tur­al insights, which helped bring authen­tic­i­ty and depth to the book’s nar­ra­tive. The author gives spe­cial recog­ni­tion to indi­vid­u­als such as Margie Burkhart, Kathryn Red Corn, and the late Jozi Tall Chief, whose voic­es and per­spec­tives were invalu­able in recon­struct­ing the his­tor­i­cal events cov­ered in the book. Addi­tion­al­ly, descen­dants of key his­tor­i­cal figures—including mem­bers of the Vaugh­an and White families—played a crit­i­cal role by pro­vid­ing first­hand accounts, per­son­al doc­u­ments, and access to fam­i­ly archives that added nuance and cred­i­bil­i­ty to the research.

The acknowl­edg­ments also high­light the con­tri­bu­tions of his­to­ri­ans, anthro­pol­o­gists, and sub­ject mat­ter experts who lent their knowl­edge in key areas such as Osage cul­ture, the his­to­ry of the FBI, and the devel­op­ment of law enforce­ment in the Unit­ed States. Among the many schol­ars con­sult­ed, anthro­pol­o­gist Gar­rick Bai­ley and FBI his­to­ri­an John F. Fox are par­tic­u­lar­ly com­mend­ed for their exten­sive guid­ance and research sup­port. Their exper­tise helped the author nav­i­gate the com­plex­i­ties of his­tor­i­cal and legal frame­works, ensur­ing that the book accu­rate­ly por­trayed both the Osage community’s expe­ri­ences and the broad­er evo­lu­tion of inves­tiga­tive prac­tices in Amer­i­ca. The con­tri­bu­tions of addi­tion­al schol­ars, such as Ter­ry Wil­son, Den­nis McAu­li­ffe, and Lawrence Hogan, are also acknowl­edged for their research on the socio-polit­i­cal chal­lenges faced by Native Amer­i­can tribes, fur­ther enhanc­ing the book’s con­tex­tu­al rich­ness.

A sig­nif­i­cant por­tion of the acknowl­edg­ments is ded­i­cat­ed to express­ing grat­i­tude to research insti­tu­tions, libraries, and archival facil­i­ties that played a cru­cial role in pro­vid­ing access to pri­ma­ry and sec­ondary sources. The author specif­i­cal­ly thanks the Nation­al Archives, the Osage Nation Muse­um, and var­i­ous his­tor­i­cal soci­eties that offered invalu­able doc­u­ments, tran­scripts, and oth­er his­tor­i­cal records. These insti­tu­tions, along with ded­i­cat­ed archivists and librar­i­ans, helped the author uncov­er rare mate­ri­als, includ­ing unpub­lished man­u­scripts, legal tes­ti­monies, and per­son­al let­ters that con­tributed to the depth of the book. Fur­ther­more, news­pa­per archives and peri­od­i­cals pro­vid­ed essen­tial con­tem­po­rary accounts that helped recon­struct events with jour­nal­is­tic accu­ra­cy.

Beyond aca­d­e­m­ic and insti­tu­tion­al sup­port, the author also empha­sizes the crit­i­cal role of friends, col­leagues, and fel­low writ­ers who offered edi­to­r­i­al insights, encour­age­ment, and con­struc­tive crit­i­cism through­out the writ­ing process. Edi­tors and men­tors at The New York­er are par­tic­u­lar­ly cred­it­ed for their rig­or­ous feed­back and assis­tance in refin­ing the man­u­script, ensur­ing that it remained both engag­ing and his­tor­i­cal­ly accu­rate. The author also acknowl­edges the con­tri­bu­tions of vet­er­an jour­nal­ists whose report­ing on the Osage mur­ders and relat­ed top­ics helped shape the book’s inves­tiga­tive approach, mak­ing it not just a his­tor­i­cal recount­ing but also an in-depth explo­ration of sys­temic injus­tices.

Anoth­er major influ­ence on the book’s devel­op­ment was the author’s time spent at the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cull­man Cen­ter for Schol­ars and Writ­ers at the New York Pub­lic Library. This pres­ti­gious fel­low­ship pro­vid­ed the oppor­tu­ni­ty to access rare archival col­lec­tions, engage with fel­low schol­ars, and ded­i­cate focused time to research and writ­ing. Dur­ing this peri­od, the author also made sig­nif­i­cant con­nec­tions, includ­ing an encounter with Kevin Win­kler, whose per­son­al fam­i­ly his­to­ry inter­sect­ed with the events cov­ered in the book, adding anoth­er lay­er of depth to the research. These moments rein­forced the impor­tance of col­lab­o­ra­tive schol­ar­ship and the way his­tor­i­cal nar­ra­tives con­tin­ue to res­onate through gen­er­a­tions.

In addi­tion to schol­ar­ly and pro­fes­sion­al sup­port, the acknowl­edg­ments also touch on the per­son­al sac­ri­fices made by the author’s fam­i­ly, express­ing deep grat­i­tude for their patience, encour­age­ment, and under­stand­ing through­out the exten­sive research and writ­ing process. Writ­ing a book of this mag­ni­tude required long hours of soli­tude, trav­el, and immer­sion in com­plex and often dis­tress­ing his­tor­i­cal sub­ject mat­ter, mak­ing the sup­port of loved ones essen­tial. The author rec­og­nizes the emo­tion­al weight of the mate­r­i­al and thanks those who pro­vid­ed not only logis­ti­cal help but also a sense of ground­ing dur­ing the book’s cre­ation.

Ulti­mate­ly, the acknowl­edg­ments con­vey that this book is not sole­ly the prod­uct of one individual’s work but rather the cul­mi­na­tion of col­lec­tive efforts, shared knowl­edge, and a deep com­mit­ment to his­tor­i­cal truth. The exten­sive net­work of his­to­ri­ans, researchers, com­mu­ni­ty mem­bers, and per­son­al sup­port­ers illus­trates the inter­con­nect­ed nature of sto­ry­telling and the respon­si­bil­i­ty of doc­u­ment­ing his­to­ry with accu­ra­cy and respect. Through this expres­sion of grat­i­tude, the author under­scores the col­lab­o­ra­tive nature of the project, rec­og­niz­ing that with­out the con­tri­bu­tions of so many, the book would not have been pos­si­ble. The acknowl­edg­ments serve as both a reflec­tion on the jour­ney of writ­ing and an homage to those who helped shape the nar­ra­tive, ensur­ing that the voic­es of the Osage peo­ple and their his­to­ry are pre­served and shared with a broad­er audi­ence.