Yuquot Whalers' Shrine

Anthropologist Aldona Jonaitis believes that a text of Camille de Roquefeuil written in 1818 provides the first conclusive evidence of the Shrine's existence from the perspective of multiple people.

[4] It has been suggested that it was late in the winter canning season of 1900/early 1901 that George Hunt, a Tlingit-English ethnographer, learned of this 'mysterious' Shrine in the forest near Yuquot.

[6] For Boas, the acquisition of the Whalers' Shrine became a defining 'historical moment', and marked a new direction in his 'new found obsession' with regard to the museum, its collections, and displays.

Anthropologist Harry Whitehead has been especially outspoken about the methods used by George Hunt and Franz Boas in acquiring artefacts (and specifically the Whalers' Shrine).

He believes that they contributed significantly to the perpetuation of salvage anthropology through their frequent collection and cataloguing of First Nations or American Indian objects.

Jonaitas explains, however, that there needs to be a more 'nuanced' view and understanding of how historical events occurring, both before and after the acquisition, have presented challenges as to how to repatriate in light of loss of ceremonial rituals and traditions surrounding the handling of such sacred items.