Source: City of Tulsa
Tulsa — Field experts on Friday completed a fourth round of excavations at Oaklawn Cemetery as part of the 1921 Graves Investigation, the city of Tulsa said.
During this excavation, experts expected to exhume 11 people. As of Friday they have confirmed three additional gunshot victims, two of whom have munitions from two different firearms, and one of whom also has evidence of possible burns.
“The people we are searching for are not just names in history, they are someone’s family who deserve a proper burial,” Mayor G.T. Bynum said in a statement. “I am incredibly grateful for the team doing this work, and I’m equally as grateful for the support from the citizens of Tulsa and for the unanimous support of the Tulsa City Council.”
Over the course of all field investigations to date, experts have documented more than 190 graves in Section 20 at Oaklawn Cemetery, only five of which had visible markers prior to the fieldwork. Following this excavation, nearly 50 graves will have been exhumed since the city started its search five years ago.
“Every year we have built on the previous phase of this investigation,” State Archaeologist Dr. Kary Stackelbeck said.
“Our cumulative data have confirmed that we are finding individuals who fit the profile of massacre victims. We are grateful to the citizens of Tulsa for their continued support and patience as we work through these complicated investigations.”
Forensic anthropologist Dr. Phoebe Stubblefield will remain on site to conduct additional analysis for all exhumed remains. Following her work, all remains will be sent to Intermountain Forensics for DNA and genealogical analysis.
For more information about the 1921 GravesInvestigation, and to see existing surnames and locations of interest for seven different burials of interest, visit www.cityoftulsa.org/1921graves.
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