City Of Tulsa To Reinter Remains Of 19 People Found In Mass Grave At Oaklawn Cemetery

Tulsa city leaders and archaeologists will rebury 19 bodies found in a mass grave at Oaklawn Cemetery on Friday.

Crews exhumed the remains earlier this summer as part of the 1921 Graves Investigation.

The reburial will take place during a private ceremony at Oaklawn around 9 a.m. Friday.

Currently, it is still unclear if the remains are directly related to the Tulsa Race Massacre from 100 years ago.

Archaeologists completed phase one of the investigation last month, which included onsite excavation and fieldwork. The onsite forensic analysis wrapped up two weeks ago and experts are still trying to identify the remains, which is the final phase of the investigation.

Forensic Anthropologist Dr. Phoebe Stubblefield said one of the bodies found in the mass grave has trauma. According to Dr. Stubblefield, it is a man of African descent with gunshot wounds and a bullet near his left shoulder.

On Friday, all 19 bodies will be in individual containers and buried in the same spot where they were removed.

Leaders are expected to share more information from the excavation analysis in the coming months.