Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology

DIA Values & Commitment Statement

Brown University seeks to create a more diverse and inclusive academic community, as evidenced by Pathways to Diversity and Inclusion: An Action Plan for Brown University.

The HMA embraces the principles of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. We acknowledge that the history of museum anthropology is linked to the problematic representation of people, cultures and histories. They made collections from non-Western people not only as a way of understanding them, but also as a means of controlling them. Colonial collecting practices often dispossessed people of their cultural heritage impoverishing their futures.

The HMA seeks to redress this negative history by building new relationships with the people whose cultures are represented in our collections, the descendant communities. We also embrace our responsibility to make visible and promote multiple types of knowledge and to create and foster initiatives that support diverse people and perspectives. In an effort to be more accountable for our past history and develop better relationships with communities affected by our legacies, the HMA promotes the following principles of Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility.

Click on the red plus sign (+) to the left of each word to read our statements on Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility.

The HMA is committed to promoting greater understanding of the world's peoples and cultures in the past, present, and future. We believe that people from diverse backgrounds should be part of conversations about, and given an opportunity to educate others about, their communities based upon their own lived experiences and other knowledge sources. We embody this initiative through our educational programs and events, centering voices from originating and descendant communities. We also seek to hire and retain staff who represent some of the communities we serve.

The HMA is committed to maintaining a welcoming and respectful environment. We do this by creating a space that empowers the educational experiences of all, especially historically underrepresented groups and marginalized communities. We believe that our understanding of the world is enhanced through many sources of knowledge, be they lived, written, material, visual, or oral, and we strive to incorporate this information in the stories we share. Our collections care and museum records incorporate Indigenous knowledge, names, storage preferences, and handling restrictions when known as corresponds to best practices.

The HMA is committed to making our collections available to the widest possible audiences while respecting the wishes of the communities from whom the collections are derived. Our gallery and programs are free and open to all, and our past programs are available on our website. We strive to make our gallery and exhibitions accessible to those of all abilities. We are working actively to increase access to our collections through our online catalogue, where we are continuously sharing records of material in our collection as they are reviewed. We are increasing our digital offerings through online exhibitions, archival digitization, educational learning modules, and social media. We are actively working with sovereign Tribal nations interested in repatriation or models of shared stewardship. We welcome inquiries for site visits from researchers, artists, and members of descendant communities.