The Order of the Arrow (OA) is the National Honor Society of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), composed of Scouts and Scouters who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives as elected by their peers. The society was created by E. Urner Goodman, with the assistance of Carroll A. Edson, in 1915 as a means of reinforcing the Scout Oath and the Scout Law. It uses imagery commonly associated with American Indian cultures for its self-invented ceremonies. These ceremonies are usually for recognition of leadership qualities, camping skills, and other scouting ideals as exemplified by their elected peers.
Introduction
Order of the Arrow
Order of the Arrow | Introduction
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The Order of the Arrow (OA) is the National Honor Society of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA)
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The Order of the Arrow (OA) is the National Honor Society of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), composed of Scouts and Scouters who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives as elected by their peers. The society was created by E. Urner Goodman, with the assistance of Carroll A. Edson, in 1915 as a means of reinforcing the Scout Oath and the Scout Law. It uses imagery commonly associated with American Indian cultures for its self-invented ceremonies. These ceremonies are usually for recognition of leadership qualities, camping skills, and other scouting ideals as exemplified by their elected peers.
Order of the Arrow | Introduction
In 1915, at Treasure Island Scout Reservation on the Delaware River E. Urner Goodman and Carroll A. Edson started an honor society, Wimachtendienk ("Brotherhood" in the Lenape language), to recognize Scouts who best implemented the Scout Oath and Scout Law as examples to follow. This organization is today known as the Order of the Arrow. Six years later and away at Camp Roosevelt a group that called itself the Clan of the Mystic Oak formed in 1921, with the nearly identical goals of "further Scouting, advance the interests of Camp Roosevelt, and to promote fellowship among its members." While the Clan of the Mystic Oak was specific to Camp Roosevelt in Chesapeake Beach, Maryland, the Order of the Arrow spread across the country as it formed new lodges.
National Capital Area Council | Order of the Arrow
The Order of the Arrow (OA) is a program of the Boy Scout division of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). It is the BSA's national honor society for experienced campers, based on American Indian traditions, and dedicated to the ideal of cheerful service. Awards are separate and distinct from the membership levels of Ordeal and Brotherhood. Awards available through the Order of the Arrow include: Vigil Honor, Founder's Award, Distinguished Service Award, Lifetime Achievement Award, Red Arrow Award, E. Urner Goodman Camping Award, E. Urner Goodman, Scholarship Fund, National Service Award. Scholastic awards are also available to Arrowmen to aid in education expenses.
Advancement and recognition in the Boy Scouts of America | Order of the Arrow
Goodman is best remembered today for having created the Order of the Arrow (OA), a popular and highly successful program of the BSA that continues to honor Scouts for their cheerful service. Since its founding in 1915, the Order of the Arrow has grown to become a nationwide program having thousands of members, which recognizes those Scouts who best exemplify the virtues of cheerful service, camping, and leadership by membership in BSA's honor society. As of 2007, the Order of the Arrow has more than 183,000 members.
E. Urner Goodman | Introduction
The Order of the Arrow was founded in 1915 at a Scout summer camp on Treasure Island, on the Delaware River near Philadelphia. The two men principally responsible for its creation were camp director E. Urner Goodman and his assistant Carroll A. Edson. Goodman and Edson were looking for ways to improve the camp and to keep the older boys coming back. They looked at several sources in creating their new 'camp fraternity', including: The Order earned official recognition as a BSA program experiment in 1922, along with several other honor societies. It acquired its present name at the same time.
Unami Lodge | History
They decided to create an honor society of their own at camp that summer, in a manner befitting a boy's interest and understanding. Goodman utilized the appeal of Indian lore and recognition by a Scout's peers as motivational tools. He devised a program where troops chose, at the camp's conclusion, those boys from among their number who best exemplified the ideals of Scouting. Those elected were acknowledged as having displayed, in the eyes of their fellow Scouts, a spirit of unselfish service and brotherhood. Edson helped Goodman research the traditions and language of the Lenni Lenape—also known as the Delaware—who had once inhabited Treasure Island.
E. Urner Goodman | Founding and development of the Order of the Arrow
The Order of the Arrow (OA) is the National Honor Society of the Boy Scouts of America and is compromised by Scouts and Scouters who exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their everyday lives. The Council is serviced by three different Lodges of the OA these are:
Crossroads of the West Council | Order of the Arrow
The brotherhood of Scout honor campers with its American Indian overtones was a success and was repeated again the following summer at Treasure Island. Those Scouts honored at Treasure Island in 1915 and 1916 would eventually become members of the Order of the Arrow's Unami Lodge. By 1921, Goodman had spoken to Scout leaders in surrounding states about the OA, and lodges were established in a score of Scout councils in the northeast. In October 1921, he convened the first national meeting of what was then called the National Lodge of the Order of the Arrow in Philadelphia, and Goodman was elected Grand Chieftain.
E. Urner Goodman | Founding and development of the Order of the Arrow
Goodman and Edson, the founders of the Order of the Arrow, opted to portray what they saw as Native American characteristics "as a sign of scouting excellence," and that the imagery, costuming, titles and imitation rituals "evoked a primitivist exterior Indian Other, vanished from the modern world but still accessible through ritual and its accompanying objects." Goodman and Edson established the OA at Treasure Island Scout Reservation as a Scouting honor society "based on a loose interpretation of" "Hiawatha" and the novel "The Last of the Mohicans". Inductions of new OA members at Treasure Island involved OA members meeting around bonfires in "ritual Indian costume".
Order of the Arrow | Association with Native American Cultures
It is important to distinguish between "awards," "honors," and "membership levels" in the Order of the Arrow – the honor camping society of the Boy Scouts of America. The Founder's Award, the Red Arrow Award, and the Distinguished Service Award are all "awards". Any of the awards of the Order of the Arrow (OA) may be presented to an individual regardless of which membership level he or she has achieved. The Vigil Honor may only be presented to Brotherhood Members.
Order of the Arrow honors and awards | Introduction
The Order of the Arrow Founder's Award was first introduced at the 1981 National Order of the Arrow Conference (NOAC), following the death of Goodman. This award honors Arrowmen in the Order of the Arrow (OA) for unselfish service above and beyond their normal duties to their lodge. Any lodge may present the award to up to two arrowmen annually; lodges with more than 1,000 members may present up to three awards, and lodges with more than 1,500 members may present up to four awards. No lodge may present more than four awards. If more than one Founder's Award is presented, at least one must be presented to a youth member under the age of 21.
Order of the Arrow honors and awards | Founder's Award
In 1915, E. Urner Goodman, a newly hired field executive for the Philadelphia Council, was assigned to serve as director of the council's summer camp at Treasure Island Scout Reservation on the Delaware River. He believed that the summer camp experience should do more than just teach proficiency in Scoutcraft skills; rather, the principles embodied in the Scout Oath and Scout Law should become realities in the lives of Scouts. Along with his assistant camp director, Carroll A. Edson, he started an experimental honor society to acknowledge those campers he felt best exemplified these qualities, calling the program, "Wimachtendienk", or "Brotherhood" in one of the Lenape dialects.
Order of the Arrow | Founding and editing the Order of the Arrow
Lodges are not required to give the Founder's Award if they feel that no one is worthy of it. A member may only receive the award once in his or her lifetime. The award is a bronze medallion bearing the images of Goodman and Edson. The reverse of the medallion reads "For he who serves his fellows, is of all his fellows, greatest" which was Goodman's prime reason for starting the Order of the Arrow. The recipient may also wear a red OA Pocket Device with a gold arrow, instead of the red and white one with a silver arrow.
Order of the Arrow honors and awards | Founder's Award
After researching the OA and watching their ceremonies she said, "Use of these items by Boy Scouts indicates that there is very little understanding of the Native people they claim to admire and respect."
Order of the Arrow | Concerns of cultural appropriation and stereotypes
Established in 1908, The Order of Myth and Sword is the last secret society founded in the Sheffield Scientific School at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The organisation was first formed as "Vernon Hall", a three-year society bearing the Greek letters Phi Gamma Delta (like other "Sheff" societies, such as Book and Snake "Sigma Delta Chi", and St. Elmo "Delta Phi"). Today, each new delegation of the Society is elected to membership at the end of the junior year. Membership of the Society is reputedly based on character, and achievements in the field of public service in accordance with the Order's mission and values.
Myth and Sword | Introduction
The Vigil Honor was first bestowed upon E. Urner Goodman by the Unami Lodge in 1915, and has since been conferred annually as a national recognition upon OA members for noteworthy service to others through the OA and Scouting. New Vigil Honor members are nominated, approved, and inducted annually in all current OA lodges. Lodges nominate Brotherhood members for the Vigil Honor according to specific national requirements, with nominations limited according to lodge size and a balance between youth and adult members. Those members whose lodges' nominations have been approved by the National OA office are inducted during a special ceremony, and are bestowed with a name of honor translated in both a Native American/American Indian language as well as English.
Order of the Arrow honors and awards | Vigil Honor
The Legacy of Servant Leadership Lifetime Achievement Award was created by the National Order of the Arrow Committee in 2002 to recognize the Order's second and third generation "Founders" - Scouters who have built an enduring legacy to Scouting and the Order of the Arrow through a lifetime of cheerful service to others. The award is intended to recognize only those extraordinary Arrowmen who have deeply influenced and significantly contributed to the vision, direction, and growth of the Order of the Arrow, faithfully demonstrated a lifetime of servant leadership, and, through their daily example, illuminated and reinforced the significance of the values found in the Scout Oath and Scout Law.
Order of the Arrow honors and awards | Lifetime achievement award
The full original name for the organization was "Wimachtendienk Wingolauchsik Witahemui" (Brotherhood of Those Who Serve Cheerfully). It is still referred to via the inclusion of the letters "W W W" on most lodge patches. Goodman and Edson decided that a "camp fraternity" was the way to improve the summer camp experience and to encourage older Scouts to continue attending Scout summer camp. In developing this program they borrowed from the traditions and practices of several other organizations. Edward Cave's "Boy's Camp Book" (1914) was consulted for the concept of a camp society that would perpetuate camp traditions. College fraternities were also influential for their concepts of brotherhood and rituals, and the idea of new members pledging themselves to the new organization.
Order of the Arrow | Founding and editing the Order of the Arrow
In the United States, an honor society is a rank organization that recognizes excellence among peers. Numerous societies recognize various fields and circumstances. The Order of the Arrow, for example, is the national honor society of the Boy Scouts of America. Chiefly, the term refers to scholastic honor societies, those that recognize students who excel academically or as leaders among their peers, often within a specific academic discipline. Many honor societies invite students to become members based on the scholastic rank (the top x% of a class) and/or grade point averages of those students, either overall, or for classes taken within the discipline for which the honor society provides recognition.
Honor society | Introduction
The Knights and Ladies of Honor originated as a splinter group of the Knights of Honor, a fraternal secret society founded in 1873. In 1875, the Knight of Honor created an auxiliary, the Degree of Protection, open the wives, mothers, widows and unmarried daughters and sisters of members of the Knights of Honor, as well as male members of the parent order. The only a few lodges of the auxiliary were formed in the years between its creation and May 1877, when the Supreme Lodge of the Knights of Honor abolished the auxiliary. On September 6, 1877 representatives of the lodges of the Degree met in convention in Louisville, Kentucky, and decided to form their own organization.
Knights and Ladies of Honor | History
Influenced by Scout camp customs, the OA uses "safeguarded" (privy only to members) symbols, handshakes, and private rituals to impart a sense of community. Native Americans have criticized the OA's various symbols and "rituals" as cultural appropriation based on non-Native stereotypes of American Indians. Inducted members, known as "Arrowmen" or "Brothers", are organized into local youth-led lodges that harbor fellowship, promote camping, and render service to Boy Scout councils and their communities. Each lodge corresponds to a BSA council in the area. Lodges are further broken down into "chapters", which correspond to a district in scouting. Members wear identifying insignia on their uniforms, most notably the OA pocket flap that represents their individual OA lodge and the OA sash worn at official OA functions.
Order of the Arrow | Introduction
The Order of the Arrow (OA) is the national honor society of the Boy Scouts of America. The OA provides leadership and service experience to OA Scouts. Siwinis Lodge is the local lodge of the Order of the Arrow. Siwinis Lodge was founded in December 1943 a BSA charter was granted in April 1944 as Lodge #252. The name Siwinis, means "Big Pine". The name came from a summer camp song. On March 16, 2016 the Ta Tanka OA Lodge of the San Gabriel Valley Council and the Siwinis OA Lodge of the Los Angeles Area Council voted and agreed on a new Lodge name and totem for the new Lodge of the Greater Los Angeles Area Council.
Los Angeles Area Council | Order of the Arrow
The Red Arrow Award, is similar in nature to the Distinguished Service Award, but unlike the more renowned award, the Red Arrow Award is given to non-members only. It was first awarded in 1970. Because some of those honored were women who have since joined the OA, (female Scouters too are now eligible to be nominated for membership), these are the only OA members who have received it.
Order of the Arrow honors and awards | Red Arrow Award
The Distinguished Service Award (DSA) is a service recognition award for those who have rendered distinguished and outstanding service to the OA on a sectional, regional, or national basis over a period of years. The first awards were presented at Camp Twin Echo, Pennsylvania, to E. Urner Goodman, Carroll A. Edson, and eight others at the 1940 national meeting. Between 1940 and the first national conference in 1948, the award was presented at national meetings as deserving individuals were found. Thereafter, the award presentation became a traditional part of the pageantry and ceremony of the national conference. Since the time of the first awards in 1940, just over 1000 Distinguished Service Awards have been presented.
Order of the Arrow honors and awards | Distinguished Service Award
The Order of Symbolic Propitiousness Ramkeerati (Special Class) - Boy Scout Citation Medal () is established on 26 November 1987 (B.E. 2530) by King Rama IX of Thailand to be bestowed onto those who have rendered constant service and support to Boy Scout activities for at least five consecutive years. Recipients must have received the Boy Scout Citation Medal of Vajira (First Class). Members of the order have no post-nominal entitlement.
Order of Ramkeerati | Introduction
Upon his retirement from full-time professional Scouting in 1951, Goodman was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Humanics from Missouri Valley College, the first such degree awarded by the college. He was also honored in 1947 when he was made an honorary chief of the Blackfoot Tribe of American Indians and given the name "Chief Eagle". In his memory, the BSA confers the E. Urner Goodman Camping Award, recognizing lodges that have excelled in the promotion of camping within their host council. The Founder's Award is given by Order of the Arrow lodges in honor of OA co-founders Goodman and Edson.
E. Urner Goodman | Honors and awards
Begun in 1999, the National Service Award recognizes four Lodges each year whose service work is exemplary in both quality and quantity. The Lodge must petition for the award and show proof of their accomplishments, in addition to being certified a Quality Lodge for that year.
Order of the Arrow honors and awards | National Service Award
This is a listing of recipients of the Boy Scouts of America Order of the Arrow's Distinguished Service Award (DSA). See Honors and awards of the Order of the Arrow for a description of the DSA.
Recipients of the Distinguished Service Award of the Order of the Arrow | Introduction
Colonel Carroll Andrew Edson (December 29, 1891 – October 15, 1986) was an influential leader in the Boy Scouts of America movement. He helped to found the Order of the Arrow (OA) along with E. Urner Goodman. The OA is an official program of the Boy Scouts of America designed to recognize Scouts and Scouters for their service, and to aid in the retention of older boys in the Scouting program.
Carroll A. Edson | Introduction
Between 2005 and 2007, the National Order of the Arrow Committee created the Leadership in Service Award to recognize both youth and adult members completing a set number of hours of service on community and lodge levels. The award was given over three years with first year recipients receiving a red acrylic pocket arrow suspended from on a blue device and second and third year recipients receiving silver and gold palms, respectively.
Order of the Arrow honors and awards | Leadership in Service Award
Adults age 21 or older may be nominated after meeting the camping requirements and being approved by the lodge adult selection committee. Honorary membership was once bestowed in special circumstances, as with Franklin D. Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower, but this practice was officially discontinued in 1953.
Order of the Arrow | Membership
For over 100 years the Order of the Arrow has played a significant role in the life of millions of Scouts, shaping them to be young men dedicated to the cheerful service of others and bound in brotherhood to their fellow man. Soon after Dr. E. Urner Goodman and Col. Carol A. Edson founded our Order at Treasure Island Scout Camp in 1915, word of the Wimachtendienk came to New York City. In 1920, four men were inducted into the Order and formed the 4th Order of the Arrow Lodge in the country. It was on that evening that the rich history of Brotherhood, Cheerfulness, and Service began in what we now know as the Greater New York Councils.
Greater New York Councils | History of the Order in GNYC
The recipient is also presented with a certificate detailing his name and lodge.
Order of the Arrow honors and awards | Founder's Award
The Order of the Sword & Shield was established in 2010 at St. Johns University by Professor Jeffrey Grossmann. The organization was created to be the first national honor society dedicated exclusively to homeland security, intelligence, emergency management and all protective security disciplines.
Order of the Sword &amp; Shield | Founding
In 1915 the Order of the Arrow (OA) was founded at Treasure Island by the Camp Director, E. Urner Goodman, and Assistant Camp Director Carroll A. Edson. The W. W. W. (the original name of the OA in the Lenni Lenape language) was designed as a camp honor fraternity that would emphasize the ideals of Scouting through the use of ceremonies and American Indian lore. At the beginning of the camping season, Goodman explored the island to find a suitable site for the Council Fire and for the rituals of his new program. A natural amphitheater was chosen on the south side of the island that was secluded from the rest of the camp.
Treasure Island Scout Reservation | Order of the Arrow
The E. Urner Goodman Scholarship is awarded annually by the Boy Scouts of America to members of the Order of the Arrow who are preparing for a professional career in Scouting. The scholarships are provided to help cover the financial costs of a college education. These scholarships have been suspended by the National Order of the Arrow Committee.
Order of the Arrow honors and awards | E. Urner Goodman Scholarship Fund
The Iron Arrow Honor Society is an honor society at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida for students, faculty, staff and alumni. It is the highest honor that can be bestowed by the university. Founded at the University of Miami in 1926, the society admits about thirty members annually, including undergraduates, students at the School of Law, and Miller School of Medicine, alumni, and faculty/staff/administrators. Membership requires unanimous votes of the membership. Criteria include scholarship, leadership, character, humility, and love of "alma mater".
Iron Arrow Honor Society | Introduction
The Order of the Arrow is represented by Shinnecock Lodge 360. The lodge was founded on June 20, 1947. The lodge totem is the tern.
Suffolk County Council (Boy Scouts of America) | Order of the Arrow
The Order of the Arrow is represented by the Passaconaway Lodge #220. On June 10, 1942, the Passaconaway Lodge was organized at Camp Manning. 43 members were inducted that year. The totem of the lodge was chosen as the bear since the Native word "Passaconaway" means "the child of the bear". Election of the first lodge officers took place. The mission of this lodge is to fulfill the purpose of the Order of the Arrow as an integral part of the Boy Scouts of America through positive youth leadership under the guidance of selected, capable adults.
Daniel Webster Council | Passaconaway Lodge
The Knights were founded by an original group of 17 men in 1873 and increased to 99 by the end of the year. By the end of 1874 it had increased to 999 members. The group was hit hard by the yellow fever epidemic of 1875–1878. In 1878 alone, the order had to pay out $385,000 for death benefits for 193 members. Despite this, the Knights disbursed large sums of money to suffers of the yellow fever who were not members of the order. Over the next 18 years, the order steadily increased its membership, reaching 126,000 in 1895. That year, as stated, the group changed from the graded assessment program to a more actuarially sound one, causing costs to go up and membership began to decline.
Knights of Honor | Membership
The Wolfeboro Pioneers is one of the last surviving local BSA honor societies in the United States that has not been absorbed by the Order of the Arrow, the others being Tribe of Mic-O-Say, Firecrafter, and Tribe of Tahquitz The Wolfeboro Pioneers is a Boy Scout camping honor society based out of Camp Wolfeboro near Arnold, California. The society was founded in the summer of 1929 by returning Scouts and Scouters who were devoted to creating and preserving the camp's unique tradition. An insight into the society in 1996 is given by a Scouter on the Scouts-L list. Beginning in the 1930s, the Order of the Arrow absorbed many of the small Boy Scout honor societies that had thrived during Scouting's first two decades.
Mount Diablo Silverado Council | Wolfeboro Pioneers
These standards include criteria for membership, governance and chapter operation. Four organizations were represented at a preliminary meeting held on October 2, 1925. They were Alpha Omega Alpha, the Order of the Coif, Phi Beta Kappa, and Sigma Xi. The six founding organizations on December 30, 1925 were Alpha Omega Alpha, the Order of the Coif, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, Sigma Xi and Tau Beta Pi. While ACHS certifies each of its members as legitimate, credible organizations, not all legitimate honor societies apply for membership in ACHS. The honor society standards set by the Association of College Honor Societies are recognized by the U.S.
Association of College Honor Societies | Introduction
Seven members of the Lodge have also been recognized with the Distinguished Service Award, a National Award to individual Arrowman based on their ongoing service to Scouting and the Order. The most recent recipient of the Distinguished Service Award was at the National Order of the Arrow Conference in 2012. Tamegonit Lodge has also been honored with the E. Urner Goodman Camping Award and the Quality Lodge award (as recent as 2011).
Heart of America Council | Order of the Arrow
Boy Scouts served as crowd control at the inauguration of President Woodrow Wilson in 1913, and have served at every inauguration since in some ceremonial role. The Philadelphia Area Council started a Scout honor society called the Order of the Arrow in 1915 that eventually became an important part of the Boy Scout program. Paul Sleman, Colin H. Livingstone, Ernest S. Martin and James E. West successfully lobbied Congress for a congressional charter for the BSA–partly as a way to deal with competition from the Lone Scouts of America, which President Woodrow Wilson signed on June 15, 1916. It reads: In addition, the following: Warren Gard (1873-1929) from Hamilton, Ohio, served as a United States Congressman from 1913–1921.
History of the Boy Scouts of America | World War I and beyond
Over the century since the Order of the Arrow's founding, more than one million Scouts and Scouters have worn the OA sash on their uniforms, denoting membership in the Brotherhood. The four stated purposes of the Order of the Arrow are: "(1) Recognize those who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives and through that recognition cause others to conduct themselves in a way that warrants similar recognition; (2) Promote camping, responsible outdoor adventure, and environmental stewardship as essential components of every Scout’s experience, in the unit, year-round, and in summer camp; (3) Develop leaders with the willingness, character, spirit and ability to advance the activities of their units, our Brotherhood, Scouting, and ultimately our nation; and (4) Crystallize the Scout habit of helpfulness into a life purpose of leadership in cheerful service to others.
Order of the Arrow | 21st century
In 1923, at the prompting of Brother Barnabas, the Knights of Columbus established a "Boy Life Bureau". Brother Barnabas was appointed the bureau's first Executive Secretary. The Boy Movement Committee of the Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus had sent questionnaires to each Grand Knight and after receiving the responses met with Brother Barnabas. Though Knights of Columbus councils were involved in the Boy Scouts America and other youth programs, it was decided to establish a youth section within the Order. Under the guidance of Brother Barnabas together with Supreme Director Daniel A. Tobin of Brooklyn, the first Columbian Squires circle was instituted on August 4, 1925.
Barnabas McDonald | Knights of Columbus
The Wolfeboro Pioneers is one of the last surviving local BSA honor societies in the United States that has not been absorbed by the Order of the Arrow, the others being Tribe of Mic-O-Say, Firecrafter, and Tribe of Tahquitz The Wolfeboro Pioneers is a Boy Scout camping honor society based out of Camp Wolfeboro near Arnold, California. The society was founded in the summer of 1929 by returning Scouts and Scouters who were devoted to creating and preserving the camp's unique tradition. An insight into the society in 1996 is given by a Scouter on the Scouts-L list. Beginning in the 1930s, the Order of the Arrow absorbed many of the small Boy Scout honor societies that had thrived during Scouting's first two decades.
Golden Gate Area Council | Wolfeboro Pioneers
The new Lodge is Tuku'ut and the totem is the Saber-Toothed Cat. The Order of the Arrow (OA) is the national honor society of the Boy Scouts of America. The OA provides leadership and service experience to OA Scouts.
San Gabriel Valley Council | Ta Tanka Lodge
Like the Boy Scouts of America's Areas, The Order of the Arrow is organized into four regions, Central, Southern, Northeast and Western Region; the boundaries of each OA region correspond with the boundaries of the BSA's regions. Each region has an elected region chief, a volunteer adult who is appointed as the region chairman to oversee its region Committee, and an appointed professional (staff) adviser. Each region chief is elected at the national planning meeting the day after the election of the national chief and vice chief by a caucus of the section chiefs from the given region. The members of the region committee consist of the region chief, the region chairman, all national committeemen from the region, and other appointed adult volunteers.
Order of the Arrow | Organization
On March 16, 2016 the Ta Tanka OA Lodge of the San Gabriel Valley Council and the Siwinis OA Lodge of the Los Angeles Area Council voted and agreed on a new Lodge name and totem for the new Lodge of the Greater Los Angeles Area Council. The new Lodge is Tuku'ut and the totem is the Saber-Toothed Cat. The Order of the Arrow (OA) is the national honor society of the Boy Scouts of America. The OA provides leadership and service experience to OA Scouts. Tuku'ut Chapters - Districts:
Greater Los Angeles Area Council | Order of the Arrow
Below is a list of Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour from the order's creation in 1917 until the present day:
List of Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour | Introduction
An Ordeal member wears a sash with a lone arrow. The Brotherhood member wears a sash bearing an arrow with a red bar at each end of the arrow. A Vigil Honor member wears a sash with the same bars of as the Brotherhood sash at each end of the arrow, and a Vigil Honor triangle on the center of the shaft. The OA sash is not worn at the same time as the merit badge sash, nor worn folded in the belt. The sash as a form of recognition dates to the founding of the Order and has a long history of changes in usage and design.
Order of the Arrow | Symbols
Up until 2004, the BSA administered the E. Urner Goodman Scholarship Fund program, providing financial grants towards the college education of Arrowmen aspiring to professional Scouting careers.
E. Urner Goodman | Honors and awards
Historically, the society was male-only, founded as the "Highest Honor Attained by Men." In 1937, Nu Kappa Tau, a separate sister organization, was founded as "The Highest Honor Attained by Women." In 1966, Nu Kappa Tau became affiliated with the national women's honor society, Mortar Board, and as Randy Femmer wrote in his book "Iron Arrow: A History","leaving Iron Arrow to carry the tradition alone". In 1976, the federal government notified the University of Miami that it was providing significant assistance to Iron Arrow in violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. The university responded by having Iron Arrow move its tapping ceremony off campus and negotiated with it to accept women members.
Iron Arrow Honor Society | History
The Knights of Honor (K. of H.), was a fraternal order and secret society in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th century. The Knights were one of the most successful fraternal beneficiary societies of its time.
Knights of Honor | Introduction
The national OA committee also sponsors various national service opportunities, the oldest of which is the National OA Service Corps at the national Scout jamborees, at which Arrowmen have helped with many functions including shows and the Outdoor Adventure Program exhibit.
Order of the Arrow | Events
The National Honor Society is an organization that recognizes outstanding students from grades 10 through 12. It was formed in 1921 as a result of the desire of educators to promote student excellence. The Bound Brook High School chapter was founded in June, 1962. The pillars of the Society are Scholarship, Character, Service, and Leadership. Chapter meetings are held bi-monthly and community services are provided through various ongoing projects.
Bound Brook High School | National Honor Society
First given in 2005, this award is given to youth Arrowmen who have attended and completed three out of the five Order of the Arrow High Adventure programs at the national high adventure bases in the Boy Scouts of America. It is one of the national awards given by the Order of the Arrow to members while they are still youth. This award is not the official Triple Crown of High Adventure award that is awarded by Charles L. Sommers Alumni Association, Inc. (Northern Tier’s alumni association) in conjunction with the Boy Scouts of America. However, those who have completed Order of the Arrow High Adventure programs at three National High Adventure Bases may qualify for the official Triple Crown of High Adventure award.
Order of the Arrow honors and awards | OA Triple Crown Award
General Bramwell Booth instituted the "Order of the Founder" on 20 August 1917 and the first awards were made in 1920 to one Soldier and 15 Officers. General George Carpenter founded the "Order of Distinguished Auxiliary Service" in 1941 to express the Salvation Army's gratitude for service given to the organisation by non-Salvationists.
The Salvation Army | Honours
The Degree of Honor was established at the AOUW's first Supreme Lodge (national convention) at Cincinnati in February 1873. The Degree was open to the wives, widows, daughters, sisters, mothers, sons and brothers of members of the Order. A ritual was written by Dr. James Bunn, the founder of the AOUW, that provided for the creation of new lodges specifically for the degree. The Degree could also be applied by Subordinate Lodges of the Order, or in private to eligible individuals by duly qualified individuals. The first four or five lodges of the Degree itself were created in Pittsburgh and Allegheny, Pennsylvania in 1873 and 1874.
Degree of Honor Protective Association | History
With the introduction of the Scouts BSA program on February 1, 2019, unit elections are now permitted in Scouts BSA, Venturing and Sea Scouting units.
Order of the Arrow | 21st century
Iron Arrow Honor Society Iron Arrow Honor Society, founded in 1926 in conjunction with the University of Miami's opening, is the highest honor attained at the University of Miami. Based on Seminole Indian tradition, Iron Arrow recognizes those individuals in the University of Miami community who exemplify the five qualities of Iron Arrow: Scholarship, Leadership, Character, Humility and Love of Alma Mater.
Collegiate secret societies in North America | University of Miami
In recognition of his pivotal role in the founding and development of TMR, received Scouting's Silver Buffalo Award in a ceremony held at the camp on August 23, 1930. Later, as recently elected president of the U.S., FDR returned again to the camp in the summer of 1933 to be inducted into the Order of the Arrow. By the summer of 1936, 10,000 boys were attending the camp each summer, the "New York Times" reported. In 1952, a Manhattan Boy Scout was recognized as the 250,000th Scout to attend TMR and given a special award by FDR's widow, Eleanor Roosevelt.
Greater New York Councils | History
The Knights of Dunamis was an honor society of Eagle Scouts founded in San Francisco on April 19, 1925 by Scout Executive Raymond O. Hanson. The Knights of Dunamis, named after the Greek "power" or "spirit". served as a service organization for local Scout councils and also hosted occasional social events. To gain admittance to the Knights of Dunamis (KD), the Eagle Scout had to participate in a large or significant service project, in addition to the one that the Scout had to perform to gain his Eagle Scout award. The Knights awarded a special honor of their own, the Knights Eagle Award.
National Eagle Scout Association | Origins
The society traces its history to an organization called the Junior Sons of America, which was established in Philadelphia on December 10, 1847 by Dr. Reynell Coates. This organization was for young men aged 16 to 21. According to Alan Axelrod, the society was affiliated with the Know-Nothing Party and disappeared when that US political party ceased to exist. It was resuscitated in 1868, under its present name. Distinguishing features of the Order are its opposition to unrestricted immigration and its support of free public education. The entry for the group in Alan Axelrod's "The International Encyclopedia of Secret Societies and Fraternal Orders" contains a number of factual errors, but it reads as follows:
Patriotic Order Sons of America | History
Mikanakawa Lodge is the local extension of the Order of the Arrow within Circle Ten. It was founded in 1937 by L. L.Hotchkiss after Scouts from Circle Ten Council came back from the 1937 National Scout Jamboree. On April 26 Hotchkiss, himself a distinguished Arrowman, mailed a letter to the National OA Secretary about starting a Lodge. On June 22, final approval for the lodge was given and within seven days of the letter, the first Ordeal was held at Camp Wisdom. The lodge gained its name when the Mikanakawa Tribe, a group of Scouts acting outside of the Order of the Arrow but with similar activities, was merged by Circle Ten into the official Order of the Arrow lodge and allowed to keep the name Mikanakawa.
Circle Ten Council | Order of the Arrow
In 1907, the forerunner Missionary Volunteer Society was founded. Seventh-day Adventist boys could not join the Boy Scouts when they started in 1910, due to events happening on the Sabbath, among other reasons. Local Seventh-day Adventist church leaders began, in 1911, various similar groups under names like Pals, Woodland Clans and Takoma Clan. In 1919, the Mission Scouts of Madison, Tennessee were started by Arthur W. Spalding, who wrote a pledge and law for the group. The Missionary Volunteer Department of the General Conference began a class style award earning program in the 1920s. The Department's associate secretary received permission from the BSA to incorporate into a MV honors program parts from Merit Badges in 1928.
Youth organizations in the United States | Pf History
The society expanded slowly during the next fifteen years but enjoyed renewed interest after World War II. In 1949 the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF) endorsed the Society officially as the only collegiate French honor society in the United States. The society was admitted to membership in the Association of College Honor Societies in 1967. It currently numbers more than 380 chapters established at representative public and private colleges and universities in almost every state, as well as chapters in Paris and Aix-en-Provence.
Pi Delta Phi | Introduction
Several alumni groups exist to support American Scout Councils and the Order of the Arrow overseas. Foremost among them is the Overseas Arrowman Association (OAA), a private organization incorporated in 1989, and the TAC (Transatlantic Council) Alumni Association.
American Scouting overseas | Overseas Arrowman
The organization has a three level structure, with local lodges electing delegates to state conventions, which in turn elect delegates to the annual convention. The national headquarters is in St. Paul, Minnesota. In 1923 the group had 800 lodges spread throughout the country. Four Grand Lodges (state organizations), joined between 1920 and 1922 – Michigan, Iowa, Washington, and North Dakota. Independent groups remained in Massachusetts and Nebraska. A junior department was created in 1926 and soon the society admitted men, though its national officers were all women in 1979, and still make up a majority of the board of directors.
Degree of Honor Protective Association | Organization
As the Philadelphia Council's newly hired field executive in 1915, one of Goodman's assignments was to serve as director of the council's summer camp at Treasure Island Scout Reservation on the Delaware River. He believed that the summer camp experience should do more than just teach proficiency in Scoutcraft skills; rather, the principles embodied in the Scout Oath and Scout Law should become realities in the lives of Scouts. Along with his assistant camp director, Carroll A. Edson, he started an experimental program to recognize those Scouts best exemplifying those traits as an example to their peers. Goodman and Edson were strongly influenced by the use of American Indian culture by Ernest Thompson Seton in his Woodcraft Indians program.
E. Urner Goodman | Founding and development of the Order of the Arrow
Senior Honor Society, which reveal their members during graduation. The Order of Ammon, in its current existence, was officially re-chartered and recognized by Emory University in 2005.
The Order of Ammon | Introduction
Membership was open all acceptable white men of good moral character, who believed in God, were of good bodily health and able to support themselves and their family. In 1875, the Supreme Lodge created a female auxiliary called the Degree of Protection open to the wives, mothers, sisters and unmarried daughters of the Knights, as well as males who were already members of the Knights of Honor. However in the years that followed only a few Lodges of this degree were created and in 1877 the Supreme Lodge abolished the degree. Thereafter, representatives of the degree met in Louisville and organized a new society, the Order of Mutual Protection of the Knights and Ladies of Honor, subsequently known as the Knights and Ladies of Honor.
Knights of Honor | Membership
Brunton was a Scout executive of the Chester County Council and one of the charter members of its Order of the Arrow Octoraro Lodge #22. He volunteered considerably for the Order during his professional career, served as a National OA officer, and was elected National Chief when adults still served in those positions. He was instrumental in creating the OA Distinguished Service Award first given at the 1940 National Lodge meeting, and he himself later received the Award in 1946.
Joseph Brunton | Order of the Arrow
After five meetings between February and September 1998, all details regarding basic structure, committee responsibilities, name of the lodge, bylaws and first lodge event were discussed and finalized. On October 4, 1998, the first meeting of the memberships of Owaneco Lodge occurred. The lodge membership approved the lodge name, number, bylaws and the first group of lodge officers was elected. During the lodge’s first year, the executive committee worked to mold the new lodge program. Several changes were made to combine the traditions of Tankiteke and Arcoon and adapt a new lodge program. In 1998 the Ockenuck Chapter renamed itself to the Arcoon Chapter.
Connecticut Yankee Council | Order of the Arrow
Mr. Hale consulted Goodman after Mr. Vaughan-Lloyd asked Mr. Hale to explore the establishment of an Order of the Arrow lodge in the council. Mr. Hale was an active member of the National Committee of the Order of the Arrow beginning just before his brief term as National Chairman in 1948 and ending with his death in 1973.
Raven Knob Scout Reservation | Founders
The group had 120,000 members in 1967 and 86,000 members in 390 local lodges in 1979.
Degree of Honor Protective Association | Organization
This idea, together with the symbol of a candle and the concept of sharing the love of learning with others, caught the imagination of the charter members. The honor society soon became a national organization through the chartering of chapters at Purdue University in 1926, at DePauw University in 1927, at the University of Michigan in 1927, and at the University of Oklahoma in 1929. The first national convention was held in 1930 on the campus of the University of Illinois. Conventions were suspended during the Depression years because of travel expenses. The third convention was held in 1938 at the University of Michigan.
Alpha Lambda Delta | History
The National Honor Society (NHS) is a nationwide organization for high school students in the United States and outlying territories, which consists of many chapters in high schools. Selection is based on four criteria: scholarship (academic achievement), leadership, service, and character. The National Honor Society requires some sort of service to the community, school, or other organizations. The time spent working on these projects contributes towards the monthly service hour requirement. The National Honor Society was founded in 1921 by the National Association of Secondary School Principals. The Alpha chapter of NHS was founded at Fifth Avenue High School by Principal Edward S.
National Honor Society | Introduction
The organization was founded on December 18, 1878, in Boston, Massachusetts, by Dr. Darius Wilson and nine others. Some of the founders had participated in the founding of the Royal Arcanum and Dr. Wilson was also connected with the Knights of Honor and was reportedly a members of the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
American Legion of Honor | History
In 1952 and again in 1975 the National Order of the Arrow Conference was held at Miami University.
Scouting in Ohio | Recent history (1950–1990)
In 1953, the very first delegation of Scouts from the Puerto Rico Council attended the National Scout Jamboree at Irving Ranch, California. Among the activities, the delegation witnessed an Order of the Arrow ceremony that caught the attention of some adults among the delegation. Having the ceremony concluded, the adults approached the OA members and asked them about the ceremony and its meanings. Upon the delegation's return to Puerto Rico, the idea of the Order of the Arrow was taken to the Puerto Rico Council. With the necessary requirements in hand provided by the OA National Office, the council commended the founding of the Order of the Arrow in Puerto Rico to its executive Luis Matías Ferrer in 1954.
Yokahu Lodge | History
The Knights and Ladies of Honor were an American fraternal benefit organizations in the late 19th and early twentieth century.
Knights and Ladies of Honor | Introduction
Even the early national meeting was called a "Grand Lodge," a Masonic reference.
Order of the Arrow | Founding and editing the Order of the Arrow
An organization that predated the opening of the school was the Burlington Chapter of the National Honor Society which was chartered on November 7, 1930 on the campus of the former Burlington High School. As the National Honor Society itself was formed in 1921, this would make the Williams chapter one of the oldest continuously operating chapters in the nation. The charter date of the now defunct Quill and Scroll chapter at Williams was listed as 1938, thereby being another organization carried over from the former Burlington High School. Other active honor societies include the National Art Honor Society, the Latin Honor Society, the Spanish Honor Society, the French Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta math honor society, and the National Career/Technical Honor Society.
Walter M. Williams High School | Honor societies
Owaneco Lodge is the Order of the Arrow (OA) lodge for the Connecticut Yankee Council. The Order of the Arrow is Scouting's National Honor Society. The lodge's name comes from a chief’s name of the Mohegan Tribe and its totem is Owaneco. The council was formed in 1998 by the merger of the Quinnipiac Council, which hosted the Arcoon Lodge; and the Fairfield County Council, which hosted the Tankiteke Lodge. When it was announced in 1998 that Arcoon and Tankiteke would merge to form a new lodge in 1999, a steering committee was set up to discuss the merger between the two lodges.
Connecticut Yankee Council | Order of the Arrow
The Order of the Arrow Scouting's national honor society is represented in the Mid-America Council by the Kit-Ke-Hak-O-Kut Lodge. The lodge is administratively divided into chapters corresponding to the council's districts. The Kit-Ke-Hak-O-Kut Lodge is part of Section C-5A, in the Central Region.
Mid-America Council | Kit-Ke-Hak-O-Kut Lodge
Revived in the early 1990s under a newly-styled name, "the Order of Myth and Sword", the organisation continues to this day as a senior secret society. This process occurred alongside the refounding of several older Yale societies, such as Mace and Chain and Torch Honor Society.
Myth and Sword | About
The Order of the Arrow Quapaw Lodge 160 was formed with fifteen members in June 1939 and inducted sixty-two members during the summer of 1939. Today, the lodge has about 500 members.
Scouting in Arkansas | Order of the Arrow
Inspired by Ernest Thompson Seton's previous Woodcraft Indians program, American Indian motifs were used to make the organization interesting and appealing to youth. Other influences include the Brotherhood of Andrew and Phillip, a Presbyterian church youth group with which Goodman had been involved as a young man, and Freemasonry. The traditions and rituals of Freemasonry contributed more to the basic structure of the OA ritual than any other organization. In fact, there appears to be no known fraternal organization more faithful in form to Freemasonry than the OA. Familiar terms such as "lodge" and "obligation" were borrowed from Masonic practice, as were most of the ceremonial structures and ritual formulae.
Order of the Arrow | Founding and editing the Order of the Arrow
Chi Sigma Lodge #369 was the original OA lodge for Quinnipiac Council. Chi Sigma started in the Quinnipiac Council in 1934 as a Scout Camp Honor Society. There was never a totem developed for the lodge. When the Boy Scouts of America began encouraging local councils to switch from their honor societies to the Order of the Arrow, the membership voted to organize Chi Sigma Lodge in 1947. The lodge was assigned the number 369 on November 19, 1947. On Monday evening, December 29, a formal installation of the lodge was held at the Council offices. The name Chi Sigma was retained rather than a Native American name in honor of Sam Bogan, founder of the earlier organization.
Scouting in Connecticut | Chi Sigma Lodge
Each year since 1969, the National Council of the Order of the Arrow selects two lodges from each of the (currently four) regions to receive the E. Urner Goodman Camping Award. This award recognizes lodges that have made outstanding contributions to promoting (and increasing) camping within their host council. Also considered is the number of Arrowmen who serve on their council's summer camp staff.
Order of the Arrow honors and awards | E. Urner Goodman Camping Award
The Junior Lodge was established in 1921 initially under the name the "Loyal Sons of the Junior Order of Odd fellows", for boys interested in odd fellowship. The ritual and ceremonies were supervised by a member of the senior order. There were 4,873 members in 1970. Membership is open to boys of age 8-21, its motto being "Honor and Fidelity", and its symbolic colours silver and dark blue.
Independent Order of Odd Fellows | Junior lodge
The Vigil Honor is a recognition given to Arrowmen for distinguished contributions beyond the immediate responsibilities of their position or office to their lodge, the Order of the Arrow, Scouting, or their Scout Camp. The Vigil Honor may be conferred upon Arrowmen who have completed a minimum of two years as a Brotherhood member and have performed exceptional service above and beyond their immediate responsibilities through leadership, exemplary efforts, and dedication. However, under no circumstances should tenure in Scouting or the Order of the Arrow be considered as reason enough for a Vigil Honor recommendation. Selection is annual and is limited to one person for every 50 members of the lodge, and members of the Order can be inducted into the Vigil Honor only with the written approval of the National Order of the Arrow Committee.
Order of the Arrow | Vigil Honor
The OA program sponsors several events, awards, and training functions.
Order of the Arrow | Introduction
The National Art Honor Society was established in 1978 in the United States by the National Art Education Association for high school students grades 9-12 from the National Art Honor Society. The NAEA also offers a National Junior Art Honor Society for students in grades 6-8. Its purpose is to assist student members to attain their highest potential in all forms of art, and to raise awareness of art education throughout the school and community. Member students are eligible to apply to the Charles M. Robertson Memorial Scholarship, a special four-year scholarship to the Pratt Institute's School of Art and Design in New York.
National Art Honor Society | Introduction
Awards are separate and distinct from the membership levels of Ordeal and Brotherhood. Awards available through the Order of the Arrow include: Vigil Honor, Founder's Award, Distinguished Service Award, Lifetime Achievement Award, Red Arrow Award, E. Urner Goodman Camping Award.
Order of the Arrow | Awards
The American Legion of Honor was a fraternal benefit order that was active in the late 19th century and early 20th century. In its heyday, it was one of the best known benefit societies.
American Legion of Honor | Introduction
The society was founded at University of Minnesota on February 10, 1909 as the first national student organization in family and consumer sciences. It was admitted to the Association of College Honor Societies in 1979.
Phi Upsilon Omicron | History
Among the requests received for Order of the Arrow Charters by the National Boy Scouts of America in 1938 one was postmarked Florence, South Carolina. Apparently, Mr. Rucker Newbery had inspired local Scouts to become part of the rapidly growing organization of honor campers. The lodge chartered to the Pee Dee Council was the 116th Order of the Arrow Lodge. After a selection period, the name "Santee" was settled upon and duly registered with BSA. The lodge grew slowly, suffering numerous difficulties, which eventually led to a return visit by Mr. Newbery to reorganize the group. After his return, the lodge began to expand and become more involved in the Order and service to the Pee Dee Area Council.
Pee Dee Area Council | Santee Lodge