Oklahoma Osage composer makes history with 'Killers of the Flower Moon' Oscar nomination

The music of the Osage Nation will be in the spotlight on Hollywood’s biggest night, thanks to the efforts of an Oklahoma songwriter.

Scott George wrote the music and lyrics to “Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People),” which was prominently featured in Martin Scorsese’s Oklahoma-made historical epic “Killers of the Flower Moon.”

Based in Del City, the Oklahoma composer garnered an Oscar nomination for best original song when the nominees for the 96th Academy Awards were announced Tuesday.

"(It's) kind of crazy already, to say the least," George told The Oklahoman by phone Tuesday. "It's really just surprising ... that we made it to this point. When we were on the (Oscars) shortlist, it was like, 'OK, well, that's nice,' and I thought that would be the end of it. To make it into the nominations of five songs, it's like, 'Wow.' I'm not really sure how to feel yet, besides surprised ... and thankful that our music is being recognized."

George's best original song nod is among the 10 nominations "Killers of the Flower Moon" received for this year's Academy Awards, which will take place Sunday, March 10, at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and be televised live on ABC.

Jimmy Kimmel is hosting the Oscars for the fourth time, but the performers and presenters for this year's ceremony have not yet been announced.

How is an Oklahoma songwriter making history at this year's Academy Awards?

For best original song, the nominees for the 2024 Academy Awards are:

• “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)” from "Killers of the Flower Moon," music and lyric by Scott George

• “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

• “What Was I Made For?” from "Barbie," music and lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell

George is the first Indigenous nominee in the best original song category as well as the first member of the Osage Nation to be nominated for an Academy Award. The song was performed by Osage Tribal Singers and is featured in the best picture-nominated movie's final scenes, which depict members of the tribe dancing around the singers as they play a large drum.

“Congratulations to all Oscar nominees for 'Killers of the Flower Moon'; we are overjoyed that the hard work put into making this film is being celebrated,” Osage Nation Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear said in a statement.

“Osage Nation is especially proud that Osage composer Scott George, consultants Kenny and Vann Bighorse, and all our tribal singers are receiving this extraordinary recognition for ‘Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People).’ For us, there’s nothing better than hearing our singers around the drum. We are pleased that the Academy members recognize the strength and beauty behind this song.”

Filmed in and around Osage County in 2021, "Killers of the Flower Moon" focuses on a grim and often-overlooked chapter of Oklahoma history: The 1920s "Reign of Terror," a series of ruthless murders of oil-rich Osage Nation citizens.

George isn't the only Indigenous contributor to the film making Academy Awards history this year. "Killers of the Flower Moon" star Lily Gladstone, who is NiMíiPuu, or Nez Perce, and Siksikaitsitapi, or Blackfeet, has become the first Native American to be nominated for the best actress Oscar for her portrayal of Mollie Kyle Burkhart, a real-life Osage woman who was marked for death in the Reign of Terror.

The late Robbie Robertson, who died last August at the age of 80, earned his first Oscar nod posthumously for best score for "Killers of the Flower Moon," becoming the first Indigenous nominee in the category. The son of a Cayuga and Mohawk mother who lived on the Six Nations Reserve in Canada southwest of Toronto as a youth, Robertson worked with Scorsese on 12 films.

The director of the housing department for the Shawnee-based Citizen Potawatomi Nation, George shared his thoughts on his Oscar nomination Tuesday with The Oklahoman:

What do you think about being the first Osage Oscar nominee and the first Indigenous nominee for best original song?

"We don't get to where we're at without the people that came before us. I had mentors that I relied heavily upon that taught me what I'm singing and how to sing it.

"Then, composing just comes from years of singing and carrying this music in my head. ... I'm honored in that regard to represent all of those people that came before me.

"You can go anywhere in Oklahoma on a weekend and find a powwow. There's 10 to 20 singers sitting out there, and they all use their own money to get there. We're not getting paid to do it. ... There's plenty of us as far as singers go, and so I'm proud to represent those people."

What are your thoughts on taking the music of the Osage Nation to the Oscars?

"Wow. Well, the music itself, it's probably been on this continent for thousands of years, and, of course, it's evolved, as we've evolved. ... For it to be featured like this is a chance for people to get to hear not only our music, but maybe have a closer understanding of who we are, because this music defines us. It defines Native Americans.

"You could say that our lives, from what we believe in the beginning of time, were always defined by music. There were songs for rising in the morning; there were songs for pretty much everything (in) day-to-day life.

"What we have now are only songs for our powwows and our ceremonial dances and things like that. It's all that's left in that regard. But for that to be featured on this stage, it's amazing."

What do you hope people will learn about Native American music by having your song at the Oscars?

"I hope people will get to hear it. I hope people will try to maybe understand a little bit more about it. We encounter this a lot ... but to a person that first hears it, all they're hearing are the vocable 'hey-yahs.' That's all they hear, but there's a intricacy inside there.

"A lot of people, they think that 'Well, they all sound the same.' Well, it's a whole, woven, intricate song that uses those vocables to create it. ... We that sing it all the time, we know it; we understand it. We know how to use it and how to create new songs. But for people to hear it for the first time, it's like, 'Well, I didn't understand a word they said.' Well, you're not supposed to understand it. You're supposed to just hear the rhythm in it. It's like humming a tune."

Have you had conversations about possibly performing at the Oscars?

"I haven't had anything yet. ... I think we're going out to the Smithsonian (National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.) this weekend to perform that song at a special showing that they're having out there. So, that will probably open the door for us to have those kind of discussions of 'What now?'"

96TH ACADEMY AWARDS

The 2024 Academy Awards, will take place Sunday, March 10, at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and be televised live on ABC. Jimmy Kimmel is hosting the Oscars for the fourth time, but the performers and presenters for this year's ceremony have not yet been announced.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Meet Osage songwriter nominated for 'Killers of the Flower Moon' Oscar