Cahuilla Lodge Order of the Arrow #127

About The Order of the Arrow

The Order of the Arrow is Scouting’s National Honor Society. The purpose of the Order of the Arrow is fourfold:
• 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

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, recognized as the BSA’s national brotherhood of honor campers, became an official part of the national camping program of the Boy Scouts of America.

About Cahuilla Lodge

Cahuilla Lodge # 127 was formed January 1, 1973. It was formed from the merger of two older Lodges, Tahquitz Lodge # 127 and Wisumahi Lodge # 478 when the California Inland Empire Council was formed. In 1974, when Grayback Council was absorbed by our council, A-tsa Lodge # 380 also joined Cahuilla. In 2006, the portion of Navajo Lodge # 98 in San Bernardino County joined our Lodge. For more information or to contact the Order of the Arrow, visit us at http://www.snakepower.org.

Membership

The OA has more than 160,000 members located in lodges affiliated with approximately 270 BSA local councils. As of August 2018, there is now an OA lodge in every council across the US.

Eligibility

As of February 1, 2019, unit elections are permitted in Scouts BSA, Venturing, and Sea Scout units. The Order of the Arrow membership requirements are as follows:
• Be a registered member of the Boy Scouts of America.
• Have experienced 15 nights of Scout camping while registered with a troop, crew, or ship within the two years immediately prior to the election. The 15 nights must include one, but
no more than one, long–term camp consisting of at least five consecutive nights of overnight camping, approved and under the auspices and standards of the Boy Scouts of America. Only five nights of the long–term camp may be credited toward the 15–night camping requirement; the balance of the camping (10 nights) must be overnight, weekend, or other short–term camps of, at most, three nights each. Ship nights may be counted as camping for Sea Scouts.
• At the time of their election, youth must be under the age of 21, and hold one of the following ranks corresponding to the type unit in which they are being considered for
election: Scouts BSA First Class rank, the Venturing Discovery Award, or the Sea Scout Ordinary rank or higher, and following approval by the Scoutmaster, Crew Advisor or Sea
Scout Skipper, be elected by the youth members of their unit.
• Adults (age 21 or older) who meet the camping requirements may be selected following nomination to and approval by the lodge adult selection committee.

Lodges

Each local Boy Scout council is encouraged to have an Order of the Arrow lodge. Each lodge is granted a charter from the National Council, BSA, upon annual application.
The OA lodge helps the local council provide a quality Scouting program through recognition of Scouting spirit and performance, development of youth leadership and service, promotion of Scout camping and outdoor programs, and enhancement of membership tenure. This material was adapted from the “OA Factsheet” from the BSA national office.

Mission of the Lodge

The mission of the lodge is to achieve the purpose of the Order of the Arrow as an integral part of the Boy Scouts of America in the council through positive youth leadership under the guidance of selected capable adults.