Archeologists Say 27 Individuals Found In Oaklawn’s Mass Grave So Far, Expect To Find More

Archeologists and historians were back at work at Oaklawn Cemetery Tuesday, in their search for victims from the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.

The process of removing human remains from a mass grave got started late in the afternoon. 

State Archeologist Dr. Kary Stackelbeck announced during a news conference that there are at least 27 individuals buried in the mass grave. That is 15 more than were first discovered last October.  

A team of experts from a company called Cardno out of Florida is in Tulsa to help uncover the remains and remove them, so they can be studied.  

Related Story: New Team Of Archaeologists To Aid In Search For Possible Mass Graves At Oaklawn Cemetery

Stackelbeck said a lot of pictures will be taken before anything is moved.  

"It is going to be very cautious, careful work,” she said.  

Ryan Peterson is an archeologist with Cardno.   

"We're humbled and excited to be here and happy to help with the overall process,” Peterson said.  

Stackelbeck pointed out two consistencies in the mass grave: Each burial found so far has a coffin; and they are all being found at roughly the same depth.  

When the time comes, members of the Public Oversight Committee will help bring the remains to the onsite lab. The committee's chair, Kavin Ross, said a black curtain will be placed over the trays holding each set of remains.  

"As we take our loved ones to the lab for further study, to determine if they are in fact those who were lost in 1921,” Ross said.  

Stackelbeck said the team will be doing work over the next several weeks to determine whether the remains are connected to the massacre.  

"We have not removed the possibility that some of these individuals, or many of these individuals, may be associated with the 1918-1919 flu pandemic. So we have to remain cautious and not get too ahead of ourselves in terms of our interpretations,” Stackelbeck said.  

After the week started with a rain delay, Stackelbeck said there is a lot of work ahead as they all search for answers.  

"What things are gonna look like for the rest of this week is, we're gonna have a lot of activity taking place,” Stackelbeck said.  

Archeologists said they are not done figuring out the exact boundaries of the mass grave, so they do expect to find more burials this week.