Empire, Slavery and Scotland's Museums steering group recommendations: Scottish Government Response

Recommendation four

Museums should commit to research, interpret, and share the histories of Scotland's links to empire, colonialism, and historic slavery.

The Scottish Government accepts this recommendation.

The evidence gathered during the project demonstrated the need for recontextualising collections to consider the role of transatlantic historic slavery or colonialism for the objects that we hold. Articulation of a more accurate account of the implications of our history for our collections is a crucial way we can reduce the harms caused by inaccurate interpretations, allowing us to better understand a more accurate view of our past and best inform our future.

The Scottish Government acknowledges the scale of this task for the sector. This cannot be achieved immediately and will need to be an ongoing area of work, with time required to establish best practice. While there will be opportunities for all museums in Scotland to consider how to approach this decolonising work, we would like to see the sharing of knowledge and experiences strengthen improvements in this area.

It is positive to learn through the ESSM consultation that our existing, hard-working, museum sector workers expressed their enthusiasm to participate in this work, although sharing valid concerns about lack of specific knowledge relating to systemic racism and decolonisation.

The Scottish Government will support this recommendation through our ongoing funding of Museums Galleries Scotland, and we expect the new organisation to have a role in guiding and supporting this work across the sector. The funding provided to support the "Delivering Change" project that is set out in the response to recommendation two will also support delivery of this recommendation.