Oscars performance by Osage Nation singers and dancers from Oklahoma praised as historic
Oklahoman Scott George and his fellow Osage Tribal Singers received a long standing ovation for their live performance Sunday night on the 96th Academy Awards.
Accompanied by dancers in full regalia, the group of Osage Nation singers gathered around the drum on Hollywood's most celebrated stage to perform “Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People)," the Oscar-nominated song George created for Martin Scorsese’s Oklahoma-made historical epic “Killers of the Flower Moon."
Lily Gladstone, the film's history-making Oscar-nominated Native American star, was shown on the broadcast cheering for the Osage performers, while Oscar-nominated "Killers of the Flower Moon" director Martin Scorsese, the movie's Oscar-nominated supporting actor Robert De Niro and fellow cinema icon Steven Spielberg applauded.
George, 66, of Del City, made history with his Oscar nomination: He is the first Indigenous nominee in the Oscars best original song category, as well as the first member of the Osage Nation to be nominated for an Academy Award.
Osage Tribal Singers' Oscars performance praised as historic on social media
From the Academy Awards audience in Los Angeles to the Osage Nation watch party in Oklahoma, the Osage Tribal Singers' Oscars performance was praised as historic and moving Sunday night on social media:
Faces filled with emotion here at the Osage Casino Oscars watch party as Osage performers play #Wahzhazhe, nominated for Best Original Song. pic.twitter.com/MOBPobTUXo
— Samson Tamijani (@SamsonReports) March 11, 2024
Really electric standing ovation in room for the Killers of the Flower Moon best picture nominee moment and performance. #Oscars pic.twitter.com/y8lBXKNSce
— Chris Gardner (@chrissgardner) March 11, 2024
No matter who takes home the Oscars tonight, this historic moment is a win! pic.twitter.com/sJld1WBYPT
— First Americans Museum (@FAMokMuseum) March 11, 2024
It’s hard to describe how it felt seeing the Osage drum played onstage at the #Oscars ?? I’m not Osage of course, but I produced content for them when KOTFM was being filmed and got to know them well. Seeing our Indigenous music on a global stage brought tears to my eyes. ????
— Tulsa Queen (@AC_NoChill) March 11, 2024
What a performance by Osage Singers!!! And SCOTT GEORGE!!
— allison herrera (@alisonaher) March 11, 2024
"The only thing more pathetic than Indians on TV is Indians watching Indians on TV." -Old Indian Proverb
But it is a good day to be pathetic lol cuz damn just look at these beautiful Osage People showing the world they are STILL here after everything they endured. pic.twitter.com/rlBlxi3Smk— Johnnie Jae aka The Burnt Ball of Fury (@johnniejae) March 11, 2024
the osage singers performing wahzhazhe at the #oscars what a moment
pic.twitter.com/CY8rqcvkgY— ?????? (@kenobitrinity) March 11, 2024
Not me bawling my eyes out while our Osage neighbors brought their culture so beautifully to the Oscars stage.
— Emily Snook (@hoopersnook) March 11, 2024
Having been a guest at the Osage dances over the years on the Tallgrass prairie of Oklahoma, it gives me goosebumps to watch the drums and chanting on national TV.
People ask why I stay in Oklahoma. No other place has this heritage with 39 sovereign nations within our borders. https://t.co/Mo3lzA892w— TulsaTeresa (@TulsaTeresa) March 11, 2024
There is a line in Killers of the Flower Moon where Robert De Niro’s character says I love the Native people but they are going to soon disappear.
Quite amazing to see Osage singers on stage tonight at the #Oscars performing ‘Wahzhazhe.’ pic.twitter.com/aFqk7H1Wc3— Michael Li 李之樸 (@mcpli) March 11, 2024
Having Osage singers perform a song nominated for an OSCAR?!#Oscars pic.twitter.com/ws1DylGxK2
— munson_jo (@munson_jo) March 11, 2024
This performance is giving me chills. The events of the Osage County Murders did not take place that long ago. #Oscars
— Annelisa J. Purdie ?? ?? ?? (@RosyShepherdess) March 11, 2024
Chills. https://t.co/1KdhSaSV6M
— Apple Original Films (@AppleFilms) March 11, 2024
Y'all just now seeing us but we've always been here. Congrats Osage. Oklahoma Reppin'!
pic.twitter.com/kNXMAawZUJ— Falicia (@feckoff80) March 11, 2024
It’s a good day to be Indigenous. Wahzhazhe by the Osage Singers ?? pic.twitter.com/YdPUGIearf
— Raven ?? (@quoth_the_rave) March 11, 2024
After the Osage Tribal Singers' performance, some users on X (formerly Twitter) commented on how far the Academy Awards have come since the infamous 1973 Oscars, when Native American actress Sacheen Littlefeather was booed and threatened with arrest as she took the stage at Marlon Brando's behest to decline his Oscar. She said that John Wayne had to be restrained from attacking her.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences apologized to Littlefeather for the incident just a few weeks before she died last year at age 75.
The Academy has come a long way since John Wayne threatened to assault Sacheen Littlefeather #Oscars #Oscars2024 pic.twitter.com/dPK6uqewYG
— Priyant (@Priyant1987) March 11, 2024
In 1973 Brando refused his award and instead gave his time to Sacheen Littlefeather. Both were hated by the #Oscars establishment for the act of protest. Well 2024...they're applauding the Osage Nation.
— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) March 11, 2024
Cena and the Rock had to physically restrain John Wayne’s corpse backstage during the Osage performance
— ?? The tumboy ?? (@TheTumboy) March 11, 2024
Oscar-nominated Osage composer: 'See us as a people that have survived'
Primarily 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. Scorsese wanted to end the fact-based epic with a special piece of music created by the Osage people.
"By the end of the film, we had to have some sense of the presence of the Osage: They survive, and the music of the Osage is the best display of this extraordinary survival," Scorsese said in a behind-the-scenes featurette.
"Killers of the Flower Moon" went into Sunday's Academy Awards competing for 10 Oscars, including best picture, but George's nomination was arguably the most impressive.
As his fellow nominees included Diane Warren, Mark Ronson, Jon Batiste and Billie Eilish, he was the only one of this year's best original song contenders who isn't a Grammy-winning songwriter or recording artist.
"What's really odd is being on a Zoom call with all of them at the same time — and I've done that twice," George told The Oklahoman in a recent interview at his Del City home.
Raised in Hominy, George has worked in tribal housing for 30 years and has served as the director of the Shawnee-based Citizen Potawatomi Nation's housing department for the past decade.
"I keep trying to find a way to describe it, or wrap my mind around it, and I don't think I'm gonna be able to, because you can't really when it wasn't your aspiration to begin with," the Osage singer, drummer and composer told The Oklahoman.
"It goes along with the same thoughts we have about the movie. ... When you see us up on stage, we're hoping that you see us as a people that have survived and that are able to hold on to what we have."
The Oscar for best original song was awarded to Eilish and her brother, Finneas O'Connell, for their "Barbie" ode "What Was I Made For?"
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Watch Osage singers and dancers from Oklahoma perform on the Oscars