The objects in the Arctic collection were at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. (at the time called the United States National Museum) for a number of years before they arrived at Oberlin in 1888 (Margaris & Grimm 2011, 117).

A man named Spencer Fullerton Baird was the assistant secretary of the Smithsonian from 1878-1887 and secretary from 1878-1887. Under Baird's leadership, the Smithsonian placed new emphasis on the collection of objects and artifacts (Nichols 2014, 145), sending scores of collectors across the United States to gather items for the museum's archives, collectors including Edward Nelson, Lucien Turner, and John Murdoch (Margaris & Grimm 2011, 112).



Collected objects were designated as either reserve, objects most useful for research and display, or as duplicates (Nichols 2014, 145). As the number of objects sent to the Smithsonian swelled, it became necessary to relieve the institution of the pressure to house them. Dispersing the duplicate objects not only served to empty the Smithsonian’s stores, but also as a means of spreading the institution’s message. By donating unneeded objects to colleges and other local educational institutions, the Smithsonian could demonstrate its commitment to knowledge sharing and teaching. The gifts also served to remind local Senators of the Smithsonian’s good work - Senators the Smithsonian increasingly relied upon to fund its expanding operations (Nichols 2014, 146).

Although donated duplicates made up the majority of the artifacts dispersed by the Smithsonian (Nichols 2014, 146), objects were also exchanged for artifacts from places under-represented in the Smithsonian's archive. This is how Oberlin got the objects in the Arctic collection. Oberlin traded East African artifacts collected by Oberlin-affiliated missionaries with the Smithsonian and received the Arctic collection in return (Margaris & Grimm 2011, 116).