What was the wasting disease in Killers of the Flower Moon?

The wasting disease that afflicted many Osage people in the 1920s, as depicted in the movie Killers of the Flower Moon was diabetes, a condition that affects how the body regulates blood sugar levels.

Diabetes can cause various symptoms, such as weight loss, thirst, fatigue, blurred vision, and increased risk of infections. If left untreated, diabetes can lead to serious complications, such as kidney failure, nerve damage, heart disease, and stroke.

Diabetes was not well understood or treated at the time of the movie. The first successful use of insulin, a hormone that helps lower blood sugar levels, was in 1922, just a few years before the events of the film. Insulin was extracted from animal pancreas and injected into patients who had type 1 diabetes, a form of the disease that occurs when the body’s immune system destroys the cells that produce insulin.

However, most Osage people who had diabetes likely had type 2 diabetes, a form of the disease that occurs when the body becomes resistant to insulin or does not produce enough of it. Type 2 diabetes usually develops in adulthood and is influenced by factors such as diet, lifestyle, genetics, and environment. Type 2 diabetes can sometimes be managed with oral medications, diet, and exercise, but some patients may also need insulin injections.

The movie suggests that diabetes among the Osage was caused by eating “the white man’s food”, which refers to processed foods that are high in sugar, fat, and salt. These foods were introduced to Native Americans by European settlers and replaced their traditional diets that were based on hunting, fishing, and farming. The movie also implies that diabetes was a common cause of death among the Osage, who had a life expectancy of less than 50 years.

While it is true that diabetes rates among Native Americans are higher than among other ethnic groups in the US, and that diet plays a role in the development of type 2 diabetes, the movie oversimplifies the complex history and causes of diabetes among Indigenous people. Diabetes is not only influenced by food choices, but also by social, economic, political, and historical factors that have affected Native Americans for centuries.