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I was incredibly honored to be invited to an advanced screening of Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon.”

It has taken me nearly two days to attempt to put my thoughts together. I’m not sure if I have accomplished that. It is a painful reminder of what happened a century ago, and to some extent, still going on in present day.

I am a white man who has lived in Indian Country my entire life. Whether it is the rolling hills of the Cherokee Reservation, or the sacred Paha Sapa — the Black Hills of South Dakota — home of the Lakota… The stories of the Osage Murders in the 1920s and the illegal taking of land by white settlers have been sanitized, or not taught at all.

“Killers of the Flower Moon” is a fairly accurate retelling of the atrocities of William “King” Hale. The murders he was responsible for against the Osage people for power and greed are reprehensible. The story of Hale, his nephew Ernest Burkhart, and Ernest’s wife Mollie Burkhart (an Osage woman) needs to be told. Scorsese does an incredible job in telling this story, for the most part.

But “Killers of the Flower Moon” is flawed. It was written by a white man. The movie is shown through the eyes of a white man. That part will be difficult for our Osage friends, who still are impacted by these tragedies. The movie will be difficult for all Native American tribes who still are impacted by land theft in the Black Hills, broken treaties from the US Government, wars of policy between Native American tribes and the current Governor of Oklahoma, and the heartbreak surrounding Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.

The movie was done well for people who do not live the lives of Native Americans. The movie was done through the eyes of white men — it would have been better if the story was told through the eyes of Mollie Burkhart. It was her story.

Scorsese put in an actual love story between Ernest and Mollie Burkhart. There is no proof that Ernest actually loved her. In fact, the Osage people I have spoken to say it was the plan from the beginning to murder Mollie’s entire family to funnel all money and headrights to her so that white men can profit. That is not love.

Does every person need to watch “Killers of the Flower Moon?” Yes. Will I go see it again? Yes. But everyone needs to go with an open mind, an open heart and the understanding that non-Native people will have a different experience than our Native friends.

“Killers of the Flower Moon” is not an easy experience. It’s disturbing, as it should be. But it is a must-see.

David Grann’s book of the same name, in which the movie is based, sits in a place of honor on my bookshelf at home — in between the biographies of Wilma Mankiller and Sitting Bull.

All these books were written by white men. The movie’s screenplay was written by non-Native men. This commentary is also written by a white man.

We all need to learn from these atrocities and pledge to never repeat them. Unfortunately, in many areas, we continue to fail. That needs to change.

Nathan Thompson is the News Director for KWON/KYFM/KRIG/KPGM. This commentary is his opinion.