On Exhibit: The “Yeti Memo”
Posted by: Craig Woolheater on October 18th, 2017
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In 1959, the U.S. State Department received a curious memo from the new U.S. Embassy in Nepal concerning the regulations for Yeti hunting.
The Himalayan Yeti, a mythological creature often compared to Bigfoot, achieved international infamy in the 1950s. Western climbers ascending Mount Everest continued to report yeti footprints.
The “Yeti Memo” originated with the Nepalese government about two years before the Americans published it in English. It stipulated that the Yeti could only be killed in self-defense and that any evidence of the existence of the creature had to be immediately turned over to the Government of Nepal.
The memo also insisted that explorers who sought the Yeti pay a royalty of 5,000 rupees to the Nepalese government. In today’s currency that would be roughly $1,100.
Of course, the existence of this document doesn’t mean that the U.S. Government believed in Yetis. The memo was instead a strategic move to demonstrate the U.S. support of Nepal sovereignty.
The Yeti Memo will be on display from September 28 to November 29, 2017, in the East Rotunda Gallery of the National Archives Building in Washington, DC.
See also:
The American Government’s Advice for Yeti Hunters, 1959
Mid-Century Mania: Why Did Yeti-Slick Document Story Go Viral?
Slick Papers Donated To University of Texas
1950s’ Feds Believed in Yeti
Co-founder of Cryptomundo in 2005.
I have appeared in or contributed to the following TV programs, documentaries and films:
OLN's Mysterious Encounters: "Caddo Critter", Southern Fried Bigfoot, Travel Channel's Weird Travels: "Bigfoot", History Channel's MonsterQuest: "Swamp Stalker", The Wild Man of the Navidad, Destination America's Monsters and Mysteries in America: Texas Terror - Lake Worth Monster, Animal Planet's Finding Bigfoot: Return to Boggy Creek and Beast of the Bayou.
