The Arkansas Archeological Society will hold its annual meeting Saturday, Sept. 26, at the Fort Smith Convention Center, with a keynote address focused on the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot Graves Project. The event, running from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., will include presentations beginning at 8 p.m. by Oklahoma State Archaeologist Kary Stackelbeck and community liaison Brenda Nails-Alford.
The presentation, titled “The Community-Engaged Search for Victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre,” will examine the ongoing efforts to locate and honor the remains of those affected by one of the deadliest racial attacks in U.S. history. On May 31, 1921, and the following day, the Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa—known as “Black Wall Street”—was destroyed in a violent assault by white mobs, resulting in numerous deaths and widespread displacement. The search project aims to fill gaps left by decades of silence and loss.
Held at 900 Rogers Avenue, the Convention Center will host a full day of activities for attendees interested in Arkansas archeology, preservation, and history. The event is free and accessible to the public, drawing local residents, scholars, and members of the Arkansas Archeological Society from across the state.
Stackelbeck’s and Nails-Alford’s work highlights a rising recognition within archeology of collaboration with affected communities. Nails-Alford serves as a community liaison, facilitating dialogue and engagement that respect the voices and memories of survivors’ descendants during the excavation and memorial process. Their presentation offers a rare window into how archeological practice intersects with social justice.
Organizers say the gathering also features workshops, panel discussions, and presentations on Arkansas’s own rich archeological landscape, including artifact conservation and site surveys. The Society’s mission encourages preservation of cultural heritage with an awareness of how these stories contribute to contemporary understanding.
Fort Smith’s hosting of this annual event brings attention to the region’s role in telling these broader historical narratives. The city, known for its blend of frontier history and river commerce, creates a fitting backdrop for conversations about the meanings unearthed beneath the surface.
More than a century after the Tulsa Race Massacre, the project’s efforts serve as a form of reckoning with a painful past. The search to identify and properly memorialize victims confronts a legacy marked by erasure and neglect, reflecting a shift in how communities and scholars approach acts of violence within the archaeological record.
Visitors to the Fort Smith Convention Center will find an environment filled with a quiet urgency—the kind that comes with unearthing truths long buried, both literally and figuratively. The aroma of fresh coffee mingling with low murmurs of anticipation, the steady rhythm of footsteps in a large hall punctuate the day’s purpose.
This event also provides an opportunity for residents of Northwest Arkansas to engage with important historical work that resonates beyond state lines. It stands as a reminder that archaeology is not just about the distant past—it’s about understanding the complex fabric of communities and the consequences of history still rippling today.
The Arkansas Archeological Society invites all interested in history, justice, and preservation to attend, learn, and discuss. The day promises to be a meeting of minds and hearts, bridging academic research with lived experience.
Source: NWA Democrat Gazette
