What Are The Ethical Issues In The Smithsonian Board Of Regents

The Smithsonian Board of Regents and the boards of many other western museums are facing a crisis regarding the ethics of our collections. With public sentiment towards art repatriation growing increasingly positive and countries and people groups calling for their cultural art and artifacts to be returned, museums have to face this issue head on. The Smithsonian Board of Regents, as the group responsible for overseeing the Smithsonian Institute, will have to tackle issues of repatriation as well as handle the need for more diversity within museum leadership. The Institute as a whole has already begun the process of repatriation throughout its museums. Recently, the Smithsonian authorized its constituent museums to begin returning items from

Repatriation is a slow process that must be handled with caution. Despite the glaringly unethical means of acquisition, the artifacts that are repatriated can not simply be shipped overseas with little care for their preservation. To best protect and preserve history, the Smithsonian Institute should set a standard process for how items are repatriated. This would of course start with an official request from a country or group for an item to be returned or an internal decision to begin the process of repatriation. In order to preserve artifacts, the Smithsonian should ensure that the country or group in question can properly take care of the artifact, and if not, the Smithsonian should assist them in establishing the necessary facilities. Another option is to transfer legal ownership to the historic owners of the item, but rent it out from them and leave these artifacts where they are until they request the item back as has been done previously. The Insitute can also simply recognize that having these artifacts is wrong and how the ways in which these pieces enter our collections were wrong and hurt the people they were stolen from. Regardless of what artifacts get repatriated, the Institue as a whole can make efforts towards addressing the consequences of

As the director of LACMA, I have transformed the museum and the experience for visitors. By diversifying the staff and art, as well as working with the community through outreach programs in underserved areas, LACMA has not only raised its revenue but also its visitor rates, with them nearly tripling since my takeover. It is my goal to acknowledge our past and begin the repatriation process, but also to expand the Smithsonian Institute in its prestige and influence. Building back public trust and creating an environment that encourages people to come and learn is also a priority. As the chair of the Compensation and Human Resources committee, I think that increasing the diversity among our staff leadership should be a priority that can be tackled at our level, by looking for more diverse candidates, as well as by encouraging young people of color to enter the industry. The Smithsonian Institute and the Board of Regents need to begin repatriation and handle growing public discontent about aspects of our museums, like the stolen artifacts or lack of diversity. I hope to do this through a combination of cautious repatriation, outreach programs, and museum expansion to keep the Smithsonian museums and the institution as a whole up to date with ever-changing views