Wimachtendienk, Wingolauchsik, Witahemui

Purposes of the OA, Scouting's National Honor Society

--To recognize those Scout campers who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives
--To develop and maintain camping traditions and spirit
--To promote Scout camping
--To crystallize the Scout habit of helpfulness into a life purpose of leadership in cheerful service to others

History of the OA

The Order of the Arrow (OA) was founded by Dr. E. Urner Goodman and Carroll A. Edson in 1915 at the Treasure Island Camp of the Philadelphia Council, Boy Scouts of America. It became an official program experiment in 1922 and was approved as part of the Scouting program in 1934. In 1948, the OA was recognized as the BSA's national brotherhood of honor campers and became an official part of the national camping program of the Boy Scouts of America. Today, the OA is recognized as Scouting's National Honor Society.

Why Join The OA?

Membership into the OA is something that is not to be taken lightly. It is a huge responsibility and honor. As a member, you must live up to the full ideals of the OA. You must be the perfect example of the Scout Oath and Law, during scout activities and in your daily lives. You must seek to preserve a cheerful spirit, even in the midst of irksome tasks and weighty responsibilities. It can be a lot of work, and not everyone could uphold those beliefs and become an OA member, but with work, it is possible for those elected.

How To Elect an OA Member

Just as becomming an OA member is a tough task, electing the members also requires great responsibility. You need to take seriously the importance of your task. In picking a candidate, you need to think back on their entire history as a scout. Are they a good leader? Can they perform tasks when asked? Do they listen to authority? Are they perfect examples of the scout law and oath in their daily lives? These and many others are the questions you must ask yourself.

Membership

To become eligible for election into the OA, a scout must be a First Class scout and have experienced 15 days and nights of camping in the 2 years before his election. An election is held within the troop in which the troop's scouts vote to elect the next OA candidate from their troop. The results are kept secret.

At the spring camporee every year, a callout or tapout ceremony is performed. In this ceremony, the election results are revealed. For our local district, the non-OA members form a ring around the fire with the OA members in a ring behind them. The ceremonies team circles around on the inside, handing arrows to those who have been elected. The candidates move to the center and wait. All this is done in the dark and silently.

After callout, the elected scouts are not OA members. They are referred to as candidates. From here, they must complete the ordeal. The ordeal is fairly secret, as to allow the candidates to be surpriesd when they participate. I can say, however that it is tough. You must pay for your membership into the OA.

Upon completion on the Ordeal, the candidates are partial members of the OA. They are referred to as Ordeal Members. They are allowed to wear a sash with only the arrow.

The next year, the Ordeal Members are asked to participate in the Ordeal again. Should they complete this successfully, they are official members in the OA, known as Brotherhood Members. Now, they wear the sash with the arrow and a red band above and below it. They now have full members in the OA.

After two years as a Brotherhood Member, scouts can receive the Vigil Honor for outstanding service to scouting, his lodge, and the community. This honor is bestowed by special selection and is limited to one person for every 50 members registered with the lodge each year.