Land acknowledgment: The Fowler Museum at UCLA acknowledges the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar (the Los Angeles basin and So. Channel Islands). As a land grant institution, we pay our respects to the Honuukvetam (Ancestors), ‘Ahiihirom (Elders), and ‘Eyoohiinkem (our relatives/relations) past, present, and emerging.

Commitment to Collaboration and Restitution

Acknowledgment of harmful collecting practices: Museums are repositories of objects, belongings, and ancestors/relatives, including many acquired by unethical, exploitative, and violent means. The Fowler Museum acknowledges the harm caused by historical and ongoing unethical collecting practices. The museum staff is committed to the stewardship of objects, belongings, and ancestors/relatives currently under our care. We are dedicated to the return of unethically acquired holdings to their respective descendant communities.

Collaborative stewardship with descendant communities: Engagement with descendant communities is vital to the Fowler Museum. We adhere to the following understandings:

1. 1. Consultation must occur where legally required, as in the case of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and CalNAGPRA (California Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act).

   2. We follow the principles of the UC Native American Cultural Affiliation and Repatriation Policy, which gives tribes the ability to request access to and direct traditional care practices for cultural items in the museum’s collection. We strive to apply the same principles to our work with global descendant communities.

   3. Decisions on permitting access to culturally sensitive materials and documentation (i.e., photographs, texts, media, and archival records) may be made in conjunction with the respective community.

   4. Engagement with community members of descendant groups may include the proper governmental authorities and/or a constituted authority of the community, as deemed appropriate.

   5. We acknowledge that in many communities, objects are part of relational networks that include kinship; we strive to engage with our holdings and loans following community-guided care.

To read the Fowler’s collections policy, click here.

To read the Fowler’s deaccessioning policy, click here.