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Museum of Native American History contributes to Oscars-nominated designers study

According to Visit Bentonville, the costume designers for the movie, came to Northwest Arkansas to visit the Museum of Native American History.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Killers of the Flower Moon is an Oscars-nominated movie that came out on October 2023. According to IMDb, the movie tells the story of Osage Native American people slowly being killed on their land after oil was discovered in it. 

The movie stars Leonard DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Lily Gladstone. The movie was also nominated for Best Costume Design, and here's where that ties into Arkansas.  

According to Visit Bentonville, the costume designers for the movie, came to Northwest Arkansas to visit the Museum of Native American History. There, they looked at the clothing on display, and studied it prior to the film.

 Visit Bentonville said Costume Designer Jacqueline West and Costume Cultural Advisor and Osage Nation member Julie O’Keefe "Put tremendous effort into preserving the history of the Osage tribe through their meticulous attention to detail, including visits to the Museum of Native American History." 

Museum Director Jazlyn Sanderson, explains how the museum helped the designers with the research. Sanderson said two outfits in the museum's collection are seen in the movie in many of the women's outfits in the wedding scene that match items such as "skirts, blankets, and details of the wedding coat in the collection." 

Credit: Harper's Bazaar
Screen grab from Killers of the Flower Moon wedding scene.
Credit: Museum of Native American History
From left to right: Osage Woman’s Wedding Outfit and Osage Woman’s Prairie Thistle Outfit at MONAH.

About the clothing

According to the museum,  the Osage Women's Prairie Thistle outfit (right) is made of 

  • Hand-beaded embroidery & weaving
  • Wool
  • Glass, and copper beads
  • Silk rayon jewelry

The materials described were normally used by "wealthy Osage women," because the silks were imported and details were handmade. 

Credit: Museum of Native American History
Clothing at the Museum of Native American History

According to the museum, a traditional Osage wedding coat "comes from a long-standing tradition and shows that the bride comes from a family of notability."

Materials

  • Wool
  • Silk
  • Plumes
  • Brass
  • Silver
  • Gold
  • Jewels
  • Leather
  • Glass beads

Sanderson said the research conducted by the designers was "thorough," as they took measurements, photos and more from the items outside of the display. 

For more information on the Museum of Native American History, click here

Credit: KFSM
Museum of Native American History

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