TULSA, Okla. — Field experts searching Oaklawn Cemetery for victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre exhumed three new burials, as the sixth season of excavation continues.
“Total so far this season, we have documented 32 new grave shafts from undocumented graves that were previously not known or previously not in any of the records that we have from the city,” said State Archaeologist Kary Stackelbeck.
Three of those burials were exhumed on Oct. 13 for further examination.
Experts said they have not observed signs of trauma on the remains at this early stage, but they cautioned that could change once the remains are cleaned and examined more closely.
“After the cleaning phase, we examine the bones again because if a bullet is not retained by the body but there was damage to bone, we won’t notice it often until after cleaning,” Dr. Phoebe Stubblefield said. "Currently we’re still in the cleaning phase, so the X-Ray phase did not show any signs of trauma.”
Stubblefield said the absence of immediately visible trauma does not rule out the possibility that the individuals could be victims of the Tulsa Race Massacre.
She pointed to C.L. Daniel, the first massacre victim identified through the city’s investigation in 2024.
“He was in a plain casket and he didn’t have any ballistic trauma,” Stubblefield said. “We didn’t see any observable trauma, but we had the historical record that his family had maintained.”
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This season, crews have picked up where their previous search ended.
Stackelbeck said researchers identified 16 grave shafts underneath the western fence line last year, signaling that the search needed to extend beyond the cemetery’s perimeter.
“We are now excavating underneath that trail, and we have been able to fully expose some of those previous shafts that we had partially identified from last year,” said Stackelbeck. “And we also know now that we have six additional grave shafts that are fully outside of that western fence line and completely underneath the trail.”
Stackelbeck said the fact that the graves were not previously known is tied to a history of poor record keeping.
The 32 graves identified this season have been marked so crews know their locations when it comes time for exhumation.
The current season of exploration at Oaklawn Cemetery is expected to continue through the end of October. Experts are expected to transition to laboratory work in November.
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