Our Story

Mapping Greenwood is a collaborative archaeology project highlighting the work of the Mapping Historical Trauma in Tulsa (MHTT) project. MHTT is a research project under the direction of Dr. Alicia Odewale and Dr. Parker VanValkenburgh, and a growing network of student researchers and project collaborators, working to map and archaeologically uncover stories of Black community resilience and how the footprint of the Historic Greenwood District , also known as Black Wall Street, changed through time in response to cycles of anti-Black violence in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Together we are dedicated to mapping and preserving the history of the Historic Greenwood District for the next generation. Our work centralizes restorative justice archaeology, education, and community empowerment, shedding light on the resilience and strength of this historic community over the past century since the first attack on Greenwood occurred in 1921. Our temporal focus includes the aftermath of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, the revival of Greenwood of 1940s, and the forced removal of Black families under the guise of imminent domain in the 1960s and 70s, referred to as Urban Renewal. By exploring stories from the past and honoring the voices of today, Mapping Greenwood aims to inspire healing, remembrance, and a deeper understanding of the enduring legacy of Greenwood.

Our story started in 2019
Our story started in 2019 as a research project sponsored by the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission, a community-based group comprised of civic leaders, community organizers, educators, descendants, and historians to mark the 100-year anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre in Tulsa, OK. We were asked to develop a research proposal to explore what archaeology could do to answer questions 100 years into Greenwood’s past, examining what more could be learned and how much would a new project like this cost. We drafted our first proposal and in June 2019 the Commission raised all the funds for our work to begin, leading to the start of the first systematic archaeological investigation in the Historic Greenwood District and the first archaeology project in Greenwood led by Tulsa-born archaeologists.

We started with a team of 15 student volunteers conducting an archaeological survey of Standpipe Hill, which today is not widely considered to be part of Historic Greenwood, but after that 1st summer we were able put use the artifacts, intact foundations, historic maps, and heritage trees to reveal a whole new story of Standpipe Hill and bring back its original context as a living part of the Greenwood community. These initial seed funds started us on a multi-year journey to unearth and reclaim the remnants of Greenwood’s “lost” history hidden underground and opened the door for new stories of resilience and survival to come to the forefront for the first time.
We have been blessed to witness the impact of our work grow far beyond our initial proposal and see the results of our archaeological research be included in major community initiatives in Greenwood, from the installation of the MHTT Map at opening of the Pathway to Hope to citing our research in the district’s latest successful application for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, to the inclusion of the Greenwood Archaeology Curriculum into lesson planning at Black History Saturdays and other local education programs.
We started this work as two Tulsa-born archaeologists leading a local, community-based project in Greenwood funded by the Greenwood community itself and are now we are part of a growing network of researchers, students, collaborators, descendants, and stakeholders that make up the MHTT Team, working under a shared mission to use restorative justice archaeology, counter-mapping, and community empowerment as tools to heal historical trauma. Our work in Greenwood has since become a model for descendant communities and other Black Town Settlements across the country, showing how these approaches can be applied to heal past injustices in the present day. Thank you for taking the time to explore our work and our story.