Our Shared Stewardship and Ethical Returns Policy

We have ethical obligations to the places and people from which our collections originate.

There is a growing understanding at the Smithsonian and in the world of museums that our possession of collections carries with it certain ethical obligations to the places and people where the collections originated. Among these obligations is to consider, using our contemporary moral norms, what should be in our collections and what should not.

In response to my strategic priorities, expressions of interest across the Institution, and recent events within the museum profession, the Under Secretary for Museums and Culture and the Under Secretary for Science and Research established the Ethical Returns Working Group. Last spring, this group of curators and collections specialists considered whether the Smithsonian should develop a policy that would provide guidance for shared stewardship arrangements and the return of collections based on ethical considerations.

As a result of the group’s recommendations, the Smithsonian adopted a Shared Stewardship and Ethical Returns Policy on April 29, which authorizes Smithsonian collecting units to return collections, in appropriate circumstances, based on ethical considerations. The manner in which a collection was originally acquired, and the context of its acquisition are important considerations. Circumstances demonstrating unethical acquisition may include items that were stolen, taken under duress, or removed without consent of the owner. This policy is incorporated in the newly revised Smithsonian Directive 600, Collections Management.

Each collecting unit will establish guidelines and procedures for deaccessions and ethical returns under the new policy. However, in certain cases, the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents or I may be required to approve the deaccession and return of objects when they are of significant monetary value, research or historical value, or when the deaccession might create significant public interest.

We recognize that ethical norms and best practices in collecting have changed, particularly with respect to collecting cultural heritage from individuals and communities, and that the Smithsonian has collections it would not have acquired under present-day standards.

This new policy is a cultural shift in our concepts of possession, ownership, and stewardship of collections, and it directly supports our strategic priorities. Its adoption is an expression of our values and commitment to meet our ethical obligations as a national and international cultural institution.

For more information about the Shared Stewardship and Ethical Returns Policy, please visit the National Collections Program’s website at https://ncp.si.edu/ or send inquiries to SI-ethicalreturns@si.edu.

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