Bodies found in Tulsa massacre search
OKLAHOMA CITY — At least 10 bodies were found Wednesday in an unmarked mass grave at a Tulsa cemetery where investigators are searching for the remains of victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, Oklahoma’s state archaeologist said.
“What we were finding was an indication that we were inside a large area … a large hole that had been excavated and into which several individuals had been placed and buried in that location. This constitutes a mass grave,” archaeologist Kary Stackelbeck said.
Investigators found 10 wooden coffins containing what was initially presumed to be one person in each, Stackelbeck said. She said further examination of the coffins and remains, which have not been removed, was needed.
Combined with one set of remains found nearby on Tuesday, there have now been at least 11 bodies discovered, according to Stackelbeck.
Stackelbeck said it was too early to say definitely that the remains are victims of the massacre, even though they were found near an area known as the “Original 18,” where funeral home records indicate massacre victims were buried.
The latest search at Oaklawn began Monday. An earlier excavation of another part of the cemetery ended in July without any significant discoveries.
The violence took place on May 31 and June 1, 1921, when a white mob attacked Tulsa’s Black Wall Street, killing an estimated 300 mostly Black people and wounding 800 more, while robbing and burning businesses, homes and churches.