Tulsa, Oklahoma: Oaklawn Cemetery Search Finds 47 More Graves, Two With Gunshot Wounds

The sixth field season of the 1921 Graves Investigation at Oaklawn Cemetery in Tulsa, Oklahoma has ended with 47 previously unrecorded burials documented, and two of the people found had gunshot wounds, the City of Tulsa said.

The city announced the end of the season on Nov. 5. The two new findings bring the total number of gunshot victims found at Oaklawn to 10 across all seasons of the search for victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. More than 300 previously unknown burials have now been documented since the investigation began, along with one confirmed massacre victim, C.L. Daniel.

Graves beyond the fence

Of the 47 new graves, 34 were in Block L, the southern excavation area, and 13 were in Block M, the western excavation area in Section 20. Twelve of the 13 graves in Block M sat beneath a walking trail beyond the cemetery's existing fenceline.

Every person found outside the fence was exhumed. State Archaeologist Kary Stackelbeck said some of those graves sat under utility lines and a retaining wall. "We were very, very lucky in this regard, in the sense that the utilities and the retaining wall stopped short of actually intruding into those graves," Stackelbeck said.

Experts said they believe they have now found the westernmost row of Section 20 and the cemetery's original boundary.

What the forensic team found

The forensic team, led by Phoebe Stubblefield, a forensic anthropologist from the University of Florida, X-rayed each person exhumed, looking for gunshot wounds. "We did find two individuals with ballistic trauma, one in a casket, the other in a plain box," Stubblefield said.

Thirty people were examined overall. Nine of those exhumed this season met the investigation's search criteria and will be sent for DNA analysis. The criteria include adults buried in simple, unadorned containers who show evidence of trauma. The two people with gunshot wounds will get further examination, including for age and stature, along with DNA analysis.

Eleven people exhumed from beneath the fenceline who did not meet the search criteria have been reburied. They were placed in new containers and returned to their original grave shafts, now fully within the cemetery's fenced boundaries. After forensic analysis, the remaining 18 burials in Block M will be reburied elsewhere in Oaklawn Cemetery, in accordance with state law, at a later date.

A search in its eighth year

Brenda Nails-Alford, a 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre descendant, has seen the discoveries up close. Her grandparents survived the massacre. "I am so very proud to have been able for these past seven years, for me to participate in this mission, to find those who lost their lives so tragically during the Tulsa Race Massacre," Nails-Alford said.

Mayor Monroe Nichols said it has been eight years since the project began. He credited former Mayor G.T. Bynum with starting the investigation, and said the work now has "two different administrations focused on uncovering the truth and bringing closure to families."

The city expects a preliminary summary report in the coming months, with a comprehensive report to follow. Officials said what comes next in the investigation may depend on how the identifications progress. They also said preliminary work has been done at other locations in Tulsa, and that further discussions are needed about whether that work moves forward.