Washington, D.C. – On October 21, 2024, the National Archives Foundation will honor award-winning author David Grann, legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese and Academy Award Nominated Actress Lily Gladstone with the prestigious Records of Achievement Award for their collaboration and work to bring the true story of the serial murders of the Osage Nation to light.
Grann’s award-winning book Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI was researched and extensively utilized National Archives historical documents. Scorsese’s direction and Lily Gladstone’s performance in the film, garnered Academy Award nominations for their work.
All three are being recognized for their commitment to preserving and chronicling our American history through the use of the vast resources protected and held at the National Archives’, and for their dedication to amplifying the history and the stories of Indigenous Americans. Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear, Principal Chief of the Osage Nation, will also make remarks at the evening’s program.
The evening event will be held at the National Archives in Washington, DC with Grann, Scorsese and Gladstone interviewed by award-winning documentarian, journalist, and author Soledad O’Brien.
“For almost 50 years, I searched for a story based in Native American experience that I could develop into a film” said award-winning filmmaker Martin Scorsese. “When I read David Grann’s extraordinary book, I knew I’d found what I was looking for: a deep investigation into an epic tragedy that had remained largely unknown outside of the Osage community. We delved into Osage culture and history, and we all worked hard to not just bring the tale of the Osage murders to the screen, but to do so in a way that did justice to their story, their sense of the past, and their shared memory of this tragedy. And it led us to several important documents held at the National Archives. We were all dedicated to getting it right. And among the most dedicated was Lily Gladstone. She went out to live in Pawhuska, and she never stopped learning about the Osage, absorbing every aspect of the culture, bringing new ideas—her passion and devotion were extremely moving to me. It’s a tremendous honor to be receiving the National Archives’ Records of Achievement Award with Lily and David for our work on Killers of the Flower Moon.”
“We are thrilled to honor David Grann, Martin Scorsese, and Lily Gladstone at our Gala this October,” said National Archives Foundation Board Chair and President the Honorable Rodney E. Slater. “Grann’s impressive scholarship in writing Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI exemplifies the transformative power of archival research while Scorsese’s film is a masterclass in presenting Grann’s story with historical detail, precision, and form, brought to life by the incomparable Lily Gladstone.”
“The story told in Killers of the Flower Moon is a powerful one–and it is just one of the many stories that Americans can access through the National Archives,” said Archivist of the United States Dr. Colleen Shogan. “We are proud that David Grann’s research in the National Archives at Fort Worth provided the historical documents to shine a light on this moment in time, and that Martin Scorsese and Lily Gladstone brought his research to the screen to share his work with millions of Americans. Making records like these accessible to the public allows us all to learn about our shared history.”
The 2024 Records of Achievement Award Ceremony and Gala is made possible in part by Governor Jim and Janet Blanchard, Anne S. Chao, DLA Piper LLP (US), Edgeworth Economics, Dr. Fruzsina M. Harsanyi, Marilynn and John Hill, Jacqueline B. Mars, Karen Pritzker, The Honorable Rodney E. Slater, Verizon, and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP.
About the Records of Achievement Award:
The Records of Achievement Award is the National Archives Foundation’s highest honor bestowed upon individuals whose contributions have fostered a broader national awareness of the history and heritage of the United States as exemplified in the National Archives’ records. Through their work and engagement with the holdings of the National Archives, recipients educate, enrich, and inspire a deeper appreciation of our country, its ideals and its aspirations.
Previous recipients of the Foundation’s award include: Secretary Lonnie Bunch, Michael Beschloss, Jon Meacham, First Lady Laura Bush, the late Cokie Roberts, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, Ken Burns, David M. Rubenstein, the late John Hope Franklin, David McCullough, Tom Brokaw, Annette Gordon-Reed, Brian Lamb and C-SPAN, James McPherson, Robert Edsel, Taylor Branch, and the stars and creators of the Broadway musical “Hamilton” – Lin-Manuel Miranda, Thomas Kail, and Ron Chernow.
About the Awardees:
David Grann is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and an award-winning staff writer at The New Yorker magazine. His book, Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, documented one of the most sinister crimes and racial injustices in American history. He relied extensively on the research he conducted at the regional archives in Fort Worth and Kansas City.
“I could not have written this book without the amazing holdings at the National Archives, where I spent hours upon hours researching this largely forgotten chapter in American history,” Grann said. “There were so many surprising documents—accounts from the Osage that revealed the breadth of the killings; reports from private eyes who had investigated and, in some cases, covered up the crimes; and documents showing how a young J. Edgar Hoover handled his and the bureau’s first major homicide case. Often I would spend several days going through boxes, not finding anything relevant, and then open up a folder to discover something astonishing, like the secret grand jury testimony.”
Martin Scorsese is an Academy Award, BAFTA, Golden Globe, and Emmy Award winning filmmaker who has made over 30 highly influential and critically acclaimed feature films over the past 50 years. His film, Killers of the Flower Moon received 10 Academy Award nominations.
Scorsese received the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1997, the DGA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003, and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2010.
Lily Gladstone is a distinguished actress celebrated for her compelling roles across film and television, earning her first Academy Award nomination in 2023. Her exceptional performance in Certain Women earned her an Indie Spirit Award nomination and widespread acclaim. Known for her advocacy of indigenous and Native American representation in Hollywood, Gladstone’s work continues to resonate across the industry.
