About

3Rs Foundation
The Maxwell Museum of Anthropology at UNM is committed to addressing wrongs that have occurred over centuries of colonialism, exploitation, and exclusion of people of color, native tribes, and diverse communities resulting in incomplete histories, and partial understandings of the complexities of the people who inhabit the world and whose voices and stories must be heard and included. This vision is built around these three principles. Each of these three principles will influence all we do in order to uphold our mission of “working toward greater understandings of the fullness of human experiences in the Southwest and the world.”
To achieve this vision we are committed to:
Reconciling injustices by:
• Listening respectfully and learning from those whose stories, voices, and perspectives have not been heard;
• Expanding how we include these voices and perspectives in our public offerings, collections, research, exhibitions, and programs; and,
• Upholding our responsibilities to repatriate cultural and sacred objects and ancestral remains to their rightful owners as outlined by NAGPRA and by applying best professional and ethical standards.
Restoring voices by:
• Redefining how we approach and present any topic or idea by acknowledging sidelined and marginalized groups at the outset;
• Creating a welcoming space for formerly silenced groups and individuals to speak, be heard, be represented, and to self-represent; and,
• Facilitating opportunities to tell broader stories that expand understandings of diverse peoples here in the Southwest and in the world.
Realizing community by:
• Building a new paradigm for relationships among museums and diverse communities;
• Engaging in mutually agreed upon ways of being together, celebrating one another, and demonstrating inclusion in all we do for the betterment of the world beyond our walls; and,
• Creating something bigger than an institution by realizing community that nurtures and brings us together.