"Repatriation" was made available for a select few for the 2019 US Harsh Noise Wall Tape Swap. In my mind there are few themes more aptly fitting for such a swap than the forced removal of indigenous people from North America. The purpose of the Lost Graves project has been to examine themes surrounding death, final resting places, and local/regional history. This release best exemplifies the crux of the project and I wanted to make it available to a wider audience.

All proceeds from this release will be directly donated to the Association on American Indian Affairs, an organization which assists indigenous communities in repatriation efforts of ancestral remains as well as cultural artifacts. More info can be found here:
www.indian-affairs.org/repatriation.html

A few documents which were included with the physical release are available digitally upon download.

The text included with the physical release is included below for additional clarity and further context:

THOSE PEOPLE WHO MAY HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN THE 2018 HNW TAPE SWAP LAST YEAR MAY REMEMBER THE LOST GRAVES TAPE BEING TITLED “DESECRATION RITES.” THE RELEASE WAS NOT PARTICULARLY WELL THOUGHT OUT AND DID NOT DEAL WITH THE TOPIC OF INDIGENOUS GRAVE DESECRATION IN A BENEFICIAL WAY THAT THE LISTENER MIGHT BE ABLE TO ENGAGE WITH.

THIS YEAR’S RELEASE “REPATRIATION” DEALS NOT ONLY WITH A SPECIFIC SITUATION OF GRAVE DESECRATION BUT ALSO HOW DESECRATION IS DEALT WITH, SPECIFICALLY IN THE NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITY. THIS PROCESS IS CALLED ‘REPATRIATION’ A PROCESS WHICH WAS STARTED IN THE 1980S BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT PASSING THE ‘NATIVE AMERICAN GRAVES REPATRIATION ACT’ OR ‘NAGPRA’ AS IT IS ABBREVIATED.
IN ORDER TO PROVIDE CONTEXT, EXCERPTED COPIES OF A DOCUMENT DESCRIBING AN EARLY VERSION OF THIS ACT HAVE BEEN INCLUDED WITH THIS RELEASE.

THIS ACT BEGINS TO DEAL WITH HOW TO HANDLE THE RETURNING OF HUMAN REMAINS AS WELL AS ARTIFACTS TO INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES. IN THE SAMPLES WHICH INTRODUCE BOTH TRACKS OF THIS RELEASE, YOU WILL HEAR ABOUT A SPECIFIC INSTANCE OF GRAVE DESECRATION WHERE ACTIONS FOR REPATRIATION OF REMAINS BELONGING TO MEMBERS OF THE ARIKARA TRIBE ARE BEING RETURNED.

THIS RELEASE IS DEDICATED TO THE DESCENDANTS OF THE ARIKARA PEOPLE WHO ONCE LIVED ON THE LAND NOW KNOWN AS THE STATE OF INDIANA. I HOPE THAT THIS RELEASE BASED ON THE SITUATION MIGHT MAKE SOME PEOPLE AWARE OF THIS ISSUE WHO MAY NOT BE OTHERWISE.

INDIGENOUS PEOPLE ARE STILL HERE.
THEY ARE NOT RELICS OF THE PAST.
REJECT COLONIALISM!

LOST GRAVES
H.P.
August 2019.