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1921 Mass Graves Search: Excavation to Begin April 1, Agreement with Rolling Oaks Cemetery Stalls

Matt Trotter
/
KWGS

Archaeologists will begin excavating a portion of Oaklawn Cemetery with potential mass graves from the Tulsa Race Massacre on April 1.

The plan is to carefully remove the top 2 feet of soil from an 8-foot by 10-foot area with machinery, then continue the excavation by hand. Surveying work showed anomalies in the southwest corner of the cemetery consistent with mass graves.

The whole process is expected to take around 10 days, though the team of researchers is still determining whether they will excavate straight down or in an inverted pyramid shape.

State Archaeologist Doctor Kary Stackelbeck said if remains are found, they will be observed and documented in place, not exhumed right away.

"If we do identify remains that appear to be consistent with potential Race Massacre victims, the idea here is to try and compile information so that we can lay out a better plan, more appropriate plan, for that larger effort," Stackelbeck said.

Oaklawn Cemetery will be completely closed during the work, but a public viewing area will be set up along the adjacent trail, and trained observers will be present throughout the process. The Muscogee (Creek) Nation plans to have an observer present as well because there may be Creek remains in the cemetery.

While the search at Oaklawn Cemetery is moving forward, the owner of Rolling Oaks Cemetery still has not signed an agreement with the City of Tulsa for additional surveying there, despite an announcement last month one had been reached.

Rev. Robert Turner said a closer look at Rolling Oaks has been promised for months and questioned the city’s commitment to finding race massacre victims, saying there’s no urgency because the dead are black.

"How — how stupid do you think we are? I mean, do I — do I look that ignorant? Do I look stupid?" Turner said before saying he would resign from the Mass Graves Public Oversight Committee.

Committee Chair Brenda Alford said she’s disappointed by the delay, but she was involved in the negotiations with Rolling Oaks' owner and knows it's "an intricate" process.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.