• Vision

    Vision

    The Order of the Arrow......is not an end unto itself, but is for a higher purpose. Individuals are inducted into the Order of the Arrow “not so much for what you have done, but for what you are expected to do.” Taking that Obligation of the Order requires a promise, on one’s honor, “to be unselfish in service and devotion to the welfare of others.” Read More
  • Membership

    Membership

    Becoming Inducted into the OAScouts are elected to the Order by their fellow unit members. The induction ceremony, called the Ordeal, is the first step toward full membership. During the experience, candidates maintain silence, receive small amounts of food, and give service. The completion of the tasks taught lessons about brotherhood, cheerfulness, and service – the three principles of the Order of the Arrow. Read More
  • Nawakwa

    Nawakwa

    Lodge #3Each local Boy Scout council is encouraged to have an Order of the Arrow lodge. 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. Read More
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3

Upcoming Events


Date: June 2-4 (Camp T. Brady Saunders)


Date: April 28-30

________________________

About the OA

  • Organization
  • Eligibility
  • Purpose of the OA

Lodge

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.

Sections

An Order of the Arrow section consists of lodges within a geographic area of the region. Once every year, representatives of lodges in the section come together for a conclave to share in fellowship, skills, and training. A section is lead by three youth officers, the Section Chief, Section Vice-Chief, and Section Secretary, who are advised by an adult Section Adviser and professional Section Staff Adviser. All of the elected section chiefs are invited form the conference committee for a national Order of the Arrow event, which is held under the guidance of the national Order of the Arrow Committee.

Read More

 

Membership: For information on who is eligible and the requirements to join the Order of the Arrow. Please see the Guide to Unit Elections and Pages 18-19 of the Guide for Officers and Advisers.

 

Induction

The induction ceremony, called the Ordeal, is the first step toward full membership. During the experience, candidates maintain silence, receive small amounts of food, work on camp improvement projects, and are required to sleep alone, apart from other campers. The entire experience is designed to teach significant values.

For the details on the induction process please see the Guide to Inductions.

Read More

The Order of the Arrow was created to serve as a useful purpose: to cause the Scout Oath and Law to spring into action in all parts of the nation. To this day, we are dedicated to this high purpose. The Order is a thing of the individual rather than a thing of the masses; the ideals of brotherhood, cheerfulness, and service spring to life in each of us. The Order is a thing of the outdoors; from life in the wilds comes a precious ingredient that our country needs to survive-self-reliance. One of the Order’s greatest achievements is, and will continue to be, the strengthening of the Scouting movement as an outdoor experience.

 The Order of the Arrow was founded during the summer of 1915 at Treasure Island, the Philadelphia Council Scout camp. The camp was located on a 50-acre wooded island located on the Delaware River between New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and historical records show that it was an early camping ground for the Lenni Lanape, or Delaware, Indians. During that summer, E. Urner Goodman was selected to serve as camp director, and Carroll A. Edison was appointed assistant director. Together, these men decided that they wanted to create an honor society as a definite form of recognition for those Scouts in their camp who best exemplified the spirit of the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives. Since the Delaware Valley was rich in Indian tradition, it seemed only natural to base this society, this brotherhood of honor campers, on the legends and traditions of the Delaware Indians. Thus the foundation was laid for the Order of the Arrow.

Read More

OA High Adventure

Order of the Arrow High Adventure Base

Your Adventure Starts Here!

Florida Sea Base


Canadian Odyssey


Philmont Scout Ranch


Summit Bechtel Reserve


Charles L. Sommers Canoe Base

 

OA High Adventure- Visit event website for registration information.

Northern Tier- Visit website for more information

Do you need an escape from that 9 to 5 job, summer classes, or the monotony of staring out of your bedroom window longing for something new? If your answer is yes, the Order of the Arrow has the solution for you.

Each summer, the Order of the Arrow offers a myriad of different High Adventure opportunities to meet your summer needs whether its wetting your appetite by going for a plunge in the Atlantic Ocean with the Ocean Adventure at the Florida Sea Base; maybe hiking is your passion, what better place to go than the Philmont Scout Ranch where you can hike the same trails as your Scoutmaster or Scouting ancestors as a part of your Trail Crew experience. OA service goes international in the Ontario wilds, and you can embark on the odyssey of a lifetime, transcending borders and the spirit of the Order. Have you ever given thought about what the Native Americans and early explorers did to be avid traders, maybe the OA Wilderness Voyage at the Charles L. Sommers Canoe Base is calling. Perhaps you want to explore the Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve and provide service while enjoying time on and around the New River Gorge National River. Experience rafting and kayaking while building bonds of brotherhood. Whatever your summer aspirations may be, these National High Adventure bases have put together a multitude of options for you.

Along with your one week trek completely designed by you, each Arrowmen will be afforded the opportunity to leave their mark in history by helping to sure up portage trails, backpacking trails or coral reefs. Aside from providing a good deed to each of these high adventure bases, every participant will have the opportunity to work closely with Arrowmen from across the country, who have a similar interest in the future of both the program and the adventure base.

You may be thinking that this is a daunting task but it is an experience unlike any other afforded to you in scouting in that it takes you out of your world and places with people, who want to do something different. It's not everyday that you can tell your friends that you climbed into Cypher's Mine, watched the Northern Lights from a canoe or went scuba diving in the Florida Keys.

These programs help to insure that the future of scouting has a place to live, work and interact. This summer, try something new or do something you thoroughly enjoy, but do something with the Order of the Arrow High adventure opportunities. For more information about these High Adventure programs, please visit Adventure.oa-bsa.org or talk to your lodge chief. Your destiny awaits you!