:Order of the Arrow

{{Main|History of the Order of the Arrow}}

The Order of the Arrow was started as a Camp Fraternity by E. Urner Goodman, newly assigned Director of Treasure Island Scout Reservation on the Delaware River and assistant Camp Director Carroll A. Edson under the name of Wimachtendienk Wingolauchsik Witahemui. It was seen as a way to improve the summer camp experience and to encourage older Scouts to continue attending the summer camp. It was not part of Scouting America at the time. The name was based on the Lënape dialect.{{Cite book |title=Order of the Arrow Handbook |publisher=Boy Scouts of America |year=1977 |isbn=0-8395-5000-6}}

In 1921, the "known" lodges organized themselves under a Grand Lodge as inspired by the Freemasons. A new constitution was written and the ceremonies used in the early years were rewritten in 1921.{{Cite web |title=History - Grand Lodge Changes Ceremonies |url=https://oa-bsa.org/history/grand-lodge-changes-ceremonies |access-date= 14 March 2024 |publisher=Order of the Arrow}} Concern about fraternities excluding some youth was brought up the next year during the Second Biennial Conference of Scout Executives. One attendee, Dr. Tinney of Little Rock, AR stated,

{{blockquote|I happen to be an ex-fraternity man. I have had experience where every boy in the camp is not given the opportunity - mind you I say the opportunity - to join that fraternity, which is certainly opposed to the idea of Scouting. If every man in camp is given that chance and not just a clique or coterie who call themselves together and form a fraternity, perhaps it might work advantageously.Second Biennial Conference of the Boy Scout Executives - 1922 - pages 161 to 163 - https://www.google.com/books/edition/Official_Report_of_the_National_Training/YyQlAQAAMAAJ}}

Goodman had defended camp fraternities at the same conference and opposed a possible blanket ban on them. At the conclusion of the conference, the Order of the Arrow was adopted as an "Official Experiment" of Scouting America.{{Cite web |title=History - WWW Becomes Official BSA Experiment |url=https://oa-bsa.org/history/www-becomes-official-bsa-experiment |access-date=March 14, 2024 |publisher=Order of the Arrow}}

Throughout the 1930s, the Order of the Arrow went through a full review. The terminology used by the order was slowly replaced to sound less masonic and more Native American. This was a requirement from Scouting America who wished to not offend the religious groups that represented almost half of their charter organizations at the time and this needed to happen before the OA could be fully integrated into Scouting America.{{cite book | last = Boy Scouts of America | date = 1929 | title = Annual Report of the Boy Scouts of America | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=LfqHjTNpXfAC | location = United States of America | publisher = Boy Scouts of America | page = 153}}{{Cite web |title=History - OA Obligation Timeline |url=https://oa-bsa.org/history/oa-obligation-timeline |access-date=March 14, 2024 |publisher=Order of the Arrow}}

By 1948, two-thirds of Scouting America's councils had OA lodges. That same year, it announced at the 1948 National Order of the Arrow Conference that the Order of the Arrow was integrated as an official part of Scouting America program.{{Cite web |last=Lindgren |first=Jim |date=January–February 2007 |title=Honoring a Legacy of Service |url=http://www.scoutingmagazine.org/issues/0701/a-honr.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705024401/http://www.scoutingmagazine.org/issues/0701/a-honr.html |archive-date=July 5, 2008 |access-date=October 20, 2007 |website=Scouting}}{{Cite web |title=OA Basics: The Order of the Arrow is Scouting's National Honor Society |url=http://www.main.oa-bsa.org/misc/basics/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014053041/http://www.main.oa-bsa.org/misc/basics/ |archive-date=October 14, 2007 |access-date=October 12, 2007 |publisher=Order of the Arrow}}

Nearly 100,000 youth and adults are members of the Order of the Arrow as of 2023.{{Cite web |date=2019 |title=2023 Impact Report |url=https://oa-scouting.org/uploads/publications/impact-reports/OA_National_Impact_Report-2023.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=February 5, 2025 |website=oa-scouting.org |publisher=Order of the Arrow}} 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.{{Cite book |last=Davis |first=Kenneth P |title=The Brotherhood of Cheerful Service: A History of the Order of the Arrow |publisher=Boy Scouts of America |year=1990 |isbn=0-8395-4998-9 |location=Irving, Texas}}

Registered members of Scouting America must meet a set of requirements before they are placed on the ballot for their unit’s election. They must have camped for fifteen nights, be recommended by the unit leader and (for youth) hold the rank of First Class or higher.{{Cite web |title=Membership {{!}} Order of the Arrow, Scouting America |url=https://oa-scouting.org/about/membership |access-date=2025-05-01 |website=oa-scouting.org |language=en}}

Once the requirements are met, potential youth Arrowmen are placed on their unit’s ballot. The election is then held, with all youth members of the troop voting in secret for scouts who they deem worthy of membership in the OA. Adults who meet the membership requirements must be nominated by the unit committee and approved by the lodge adult slection committee.

Elections to the Order of the Arrow have occasionally been compared popularity contests. The organization’s chairman acknowledged in 2011 that elections were a challenge, and that steps had been taken for adult leaders to make a greater effort to convey the serious nature of OA membership to members of the troop.{{Cite web |date=July 24, 2011 |title=Ask the Chairman – A Popularity Contest |url=https://oa-bsa.org/article/ask-chairman-popularity-contest |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818220516/https://oa-bsa.org/article/ask-chairman-popularity-contest |archive-date=August 18, 2021 |access-date=August 18, 2021}} OA troop representatives who organize an election are asked to read the following statement to the unit:

{{blockquote|An Order of the Arrow election is not a popularity contest. We ask you not to vote for a Scout just because they are your friend, or because they are a good athlete, or because they are older. We ask you to vote for those you believe are best at following the Scout Oath and Law.{{Cite web |title=Unit Elections Handbook 2023 Edition - Unit Elections Script - page 29 |url=https://oa-bsa.org/uploads/publications/UEH-202312.pdf |access-date=March 20, 2024 |publisher=Order of the Arrow}}}}

There are three levels of membership in the Order of the Arrow:

• Ordeal
• Brotherhood
• Vigil Honor

Once a scout is elected, they are inducted into the order during the Ordeal ceremony. After six months, they become eligible to complete the Brotherhood ceremony, and following two years as a Brotherhood member, an Arrowman may be nominated for the Vigil Honor.

File:Unami Lodge F1.png, the first OA lodge on a latter pocket flap patch]]

The Order of the Arrow places great emphasis on being a youth-led organization. Only youth under the age 21 are voting members and are eligible to hold elected offices. Professional and volunteer adults are appointed to non-voting advisory positions at the chapter, lodge, and section levels.

The smallest level of organization in the Order of the Arrow is the chapter. The chapter is usually corresponding to a district in the local council. The chapter is led by the elected youth chapter chief, chapter vice chiefs, secretary, and a volunteer adult is appointed as the adviser, the district executive is the professional (staff) adviser. The chapters often hold monthly or weekly meetings together. The next largest unit of the OA is the lodge, which is chartered by a local Scouting America council. The lodge chief is the elected youth leader, the lodge adviser is a Scouting America adult volunteer appointed by the Scout Executive, and the lodge staff adviser is the council Scout executive or his designated council professional Scouter. The lodge youth officers, consisting of the lodge chief, one or more vice chiefs, a secretary, and a treasurer are responsible for organizing and leading the various programs and activities of the lodge.{{Cite book |url=https://oa-bsa.org/uploads/publications/GOA-201901.pdf |title=Order of the Arrow Guide for Officers and Advisers |publisher=Order of the Arrow |page=8 |access-date=April 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403130125/https://oa-bsa.org/uploads/publications/GOA-201901.pdf |archive-date=April 3, 2019 |url-status=live}} Many lodges have standing committees responsible for ceremonies, service projects, publications, unit elections, camp promotions, and dance teams composed of youth members.

Lodges are grouped into sections that are then grouped into regions. The section chief is the elected youth leader, a volunteer adult is appointed as the section adviser, and the area director (or his designate) is the professional (staff) adviser. In addition to the section chief, the section has two additional elected officers. The vice chief and secretary are elected immediately following the election of the section chief at the section's annual business meeting. All sections gather annually at a section conclave held in the late spring or early fall. It is the main duty of the section officers to lead the planning of this weekend with the help of the lodge chiefs in the section.{{Cite web |title=Field Operations Guide |url=http://oa-bsa.org/resources/pubs/FOG-2008.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327032201/http://oa-bsa.org/resources/pubs/FOG-2008.pdf |archive-date=March 27, 2009 |access-date=December 4, 2008 |publisher=Order of the Arrow |page=15}}

Like Scouting America’s areas, the Order of the Arrow was formerly organized into four regions, Central, Southern, Northeast, and Western; the boundaries of each OA region correspond with the boundaries of Scouting America's areas. As of 2021, following Scouting America's restructuring of these areas, the OA changed their region boundaries, now having only two. 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, forming a 'Key Three' much like the lodge and chapter system described above. Each region chief is elected by a caucus of the section chiefs from the region at the national planning meeting. Region chief elections are held the day after the election of the national chief and vice chief. The members of the region committee consist of the region chief, the region chair, all national committee members from the region, and other appointed adult volunteers. Each region annually has a gathering of all section officers and advisers. As a region, they are trained in topics relevant to their jobs. Each region also provides opportunities for Order of the Arrow members to go through a National Leadership Seminar, a weekend training course.

The national chief and the national vice chief are selected by a caucus of the section chiefs at the outset of the Order of the Arrow's national planning meeting. At the national level, the OA is headed by the National Order of the Arrow committee, of which the national chief and national vice chief are voting members. The national adult leadership includes the volunteer chairman and the director, a professional Scouter.

{{Main|Order of the Arrow ceremonies and symbols}}

File:President Trump at the Presentation of the Boy Scouts' Report to the Nation (49626974288).jpg in 2020, with a Scout wearing the Vigil Honor white sash]]

Various symbols are used to identify members of the Order of the Arrow. Members are issued a white sash embroidered with a red arrow upon completion of their Ordeal. Arrowmen who achieve Brotherhood and Vigil Honor receive slightly different sashes. Additionally, each lodge produces a pocket flap to be worn by its members. It is sewn permanently to the right-hand shirt pocket while the sash is only used in formal settings.{{Cite web |last=magazine |first=Scouting |date=2015-10-12 |title=Learn more about the OA's sashes and what they represent |url=https://scoutingmagazine.org/2015/10/learn-more-about-the-oas-sashes-and-what-they-represent/ |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=Scouting magazine |language=en-US}}

There are four ceremonies following the election of a scout to the Order of the Arrow:

• Call-Out (public)
• Induction (Ordeal) (safeguarded)
• Brotherhood (safeguarded)
• Vigil Honor (safeguarded)

The requirements to take part in the ceremonies are public but the content of the ceremonies is considered safeguarded and shared only with legitimately concerned adults.{{cite web | url=https://oa-bsa.org/safeguarded-material | title=Safeguarded Material | Order of the Arrow, Boy Scouts of America }}

Ceremonies also utilize the organization’s song, commonly referred to by its first line of lyrics as "Firm Bound in Brotherhood", and titled "Order of the Arrow Official Song" and "The Order of the Arrow Song" in the printed music score of official OA publications.{{Cite web |date=January 1965 |title=Order of the Arrow Handbook Foreward |url=https://archive.org/details/orderofarrowhand0000unkn/mode/2up |access-date=March 14, 2024 |publisher=Order of the Arrow}}{{Cite book |title=Ceremony for the Brotherhood |publisher=Boy Scouts of America |year=1999 |page=18 |id=34994A}}{{Cite book |title=Ceremony for the Ordeal |publisher=Boy Scouts of America |year=1999 |page=14}} It was written in 1921 by OA founder E. Urner Goodman to the tune of the Russian hymn "God Save the Tsar!" composed by Alexei Lvov in 1833.{{Cite book |last=Block |first=Nelson |title=A Thing of the Spirit, The Life of E. Urner Goodman |publisher=Boy Scouts of America |year=2000}}{{Cite book |last=Sanchez |first=Diana |title=The Hymns of the United Methodist Hymnal |publisher=Abingdon Press |year=1989 |isbn=0-687-43149-2 |location=Nashville, Tennessee}}{{Cite web |title=Order of the Arrow Song |url=https://oa.sdicbsa.org/order-arrow-song |access-date=March 14, 2024 |publisher=Tiwahe Lodge}}

{{Main|Order of the Arrow honors and awards}}

Awards are separate and distinct from the membership levels of Ordeal and Brotherhood. Awards available through the Order of the Arrow include:

• Founder's Award
• Distinguished Service Award
• Red Arrow Award
• Triple Crown Award{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sTPhI2F-DAcC&pg=PA494 |title=Scholarships, Grants and Prizes 2007 |publisher=Peterson's |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7689-2314-8 |page=494 |access-date=November 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107203521/https://books.google.com/books?id=sTPhI2F-DAcC&pg=PA494 |archive-date=November 7, 2021 |url-status=live}}

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.{{Cite web |title=National OA Events |url=http://www.oa-bsa.org/events/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090301225428/http://oa-bsa.org/events/ |archive-date=March 1, 2009 |access-date=February 9, 2009 |publisher=Order of the Arrow}}

File:Voyage foremen.jpg.]]

The Order of the Arrow sponsors service groups to the four National High Adventure Bases that focus on conservation. Inspired by three gentlemen, Edward Pease, Eugene "Gene" Schnell and Marty Tschetter, who gathered at a leadership summit at Philmont Scout Ranch in 1979, the Order of the Arrow High Adventure program was established. It originally started with the Order of the Arrow Trail Crew at the Philmont Scout Ranch working to build new trails and repair old ones. This expanded to the Northern Tier National High Adventure Bases with the OA Wilderness Voyage, repairing the portage trails in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, and then to Florida National High Adventure Sea Base in 2005 with Ocean Adventure, which works to remove invasive species on some of the Keys and promoting and carrying out of the Bleach watch program in the Florida Keys. After the addition of the third High Adventure Base, the Order of the Arrow implemented the OA Triple Crown Award in the summer of 2009, the OA began the OA Canadian Odyssey program which provided service similar to the OA Wilderness Voyage to the Quetico Provincial Park. In 2014, The Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve began hosting the Order of the Arrow Summit Experience[http://www.oa-bsa.org/pages/content/high-adventure-series-oa-summit-experience High Adventure Service: OA Summit Experience] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160406192204/http://www.oa-bsa.org/pages/content/high-adventure-series-oa-summit-experience |date=April 6, 2016 }} Retrieved August 5, 2016 which gives service to the New River Gorge National River.

{{Main|National Order of the Arrow Conference}}

The National Order of the Arrow Conference (NOAC) is a multi-day event which usually takes place on a university campus, bringing together thousands of delegates from OA lodges around the nation for training and activities. NOACs are held every two years, with exceptions made to align the event with significant anniversaries. As a youth-led organization, these national conferences are organized and directed by the elected section and region youth officers, who serve on committees responsible for various conference aspects under the leadership of the conference vice-chief. Events include training programs, competitions in athletics, ceremonies, and cooking, exhibits on OA history, outdoor activities, and camping. There are also opportunities to talk with national leaders, perform service work and trade patches. Evening shows have different themes, including award presentations such as the Distinguished Service Award and other entertainment.

In addition to training courses available at a NOAC or section conclave, the OA offers specialized leadership training as weekend events for members: Lodge Leadership Development (LLD), National Leadership Seminars (NLS), and National Lodge Adviser Training Seminar (NLATS). LLD is a one-day or two-day event conducted by a lodge to train their officers and advisers. NLS's are conducted by regions for lodge officers and advisers. Many lodges send key officers to receive training. Typically, each region schedules three or four NLS weekends annually, at geographically dispersed locations within the region. NLATS is a training event for adults, usually held in conjunction with an NLS and conducted by regions, on the role of advisers in the OA.{{Cite web |title=OA Training Central |url=http://training.oa-bsa.org/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130403104824/http://training.oa-bsa.org/ |archive-date=April 3, 2013 |access-date=March 5, 2013 |publisher=Order of the Arrow, Boy Scouts of America}}

Largely considered the adult equivalent of the NLS program, NLATS's primary objective was to provide advanced training to adults in each lodge. NLATS and NLS usually happened concurrently on the same weekend. The events were planned and executed by a staff of adults. After successful pilots in 2016, the Developing Youth Leadership Conference curriculum began replacing NLATS in early 2017.{{Cite web |first=Chuck |last=Coutteau |title=Developing Youth Leaders Conference |url=http://www.oa-bsa.org/pages/content/developing-youth-leadership-conference-info |publisher=Order of the Arrow |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211080652/http://www.oa-bsa.org/pages/content/developing-youth-leadership-conference-info |archive-date=February 11, 2017 |access-date=February 9, 2017}}

File:BrandonWilsonOABrotherhood.JPG

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",{{Cite book |last=Deloria |first=Philip J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dQFBTKi4aYsC&pg=PA126 |title=Playing Indian |date=1999 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=9780300080674 |location=New Haven |pages=105, 108, 126–7, 165, et al |author-link=Philip J. Deloria |access-date=February 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210608063410/https://books.google.com/books?id=dQFBTKi4aYsC&pg=PA126 |archive-date=June 8, 2021 |url-status=live}} 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".

In the later twentieth century and beyond, the Order of the Arrow has been protested and criticized for engaging in cultural appropriation{{Cite web |title=LETTER: Boy Scouts on campus demonstrate insensitivity to Native American traditions |url=https://statenews.com/article/2015/08/letter-boy-scouts-on-campus-demonstrate-insensitivity-to-native-american-traditions, |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629163628/https://statenews.com/article/2015/08/letter-boy-scouts-on-campus-demonstrate-insensitivity-to-native-american-traditions, |archive-date=June 29, 2019 |access-date=March 6, 2019 |website=The State News}}{{Cite web |last=Argillander |first=Matthew |date=August 15, 2015 |title=Indigenous Grad Students Protest Boy Scouts |url=https://popularresistance.org/indigenous-grad-students-protest-boy-scouts/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306043924/https://popularresistance.org/indigenous-grad-students-protest-boy-scouts/ |archive-date=March 6, 2019 |access-date=March 4, 2019 |publisher=PopularResistance.org}}{{Cite news |last=Kader |first=Charles |date=August 25, 2015 |title=Boy Scouts Playing Indians |work=Indian Country Today |url=https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/news/opinions/boy-scouts-playing-indians// |url-status=live |access-date=November 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170925225652/https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/news/opinions/boy-scouts-playing-indians/ |archive-date=September 25, 2017}} and spreading stereotypes of, and racism against, Native Americans.{{Cite web |last=Keene |first=Adrienne |author-link=Adrienne Keene |date=October 1, 2013 |title=The one stop for all your 'Indian costumes are racist' needs! |url=https://nativeappropriations.com/2013/10/the-one-stop-for-all-your-indian-costumes-are-racist-needs.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306042721/https://nativeappropriations.com/2013/10/the-one-stop-for-all-your-indian-costumes-are-racist-needs.html |archive-date=March 6, 2019 |access-date=March 4, 2019 |publisher=Native Appropriations |quote=No, you can't wear your Boy Scout Order of the Arrow regalia, even if a "real Indian" taught you how to make it. It's not respectful to wear it as a costume, and I’ll argue that it's not respectful for you to wear it ever.}} Protester concerns include OA's imitation of Native American ceremonies, regalia, and artwork they consider to be offensive.{{Cite news |last=Brantmeier |first=Edward J. |date=August 1, 2002 |title=Scout Gathering Allows Stereotypes of American Indians to be Repeated |work=The Herald-Times |url=http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/2002/08/01/digitalcity.020801_HT_A10_RSZ62534.sto |url-status=live |access-date=July 2, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930052322/http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/2002/08/01/digitalcity.020801_HT_A10_RSZ62534.sto |archive-date=September 30, 2011}}{{subscription required}}{{Cite podcast |url=http://www.wfhb.org/news/daily-local-news-july-14-2009 |title=Daily Local News |website=WFHB Firehouse Broadcasting |publisher=WFHB Community Radio |date=July 14, 2009 |access-date=July 27, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090719004053/http://www.wfhb.org/news/daily-local-news-july-14-2009 |archive-date=July 19, 2009 |url-status=dead}}

The Chief Seattle Council of Scouting America has written that modern ceremonies conducted by each OA lodge are "influenced by" the history and traditions of the Native American tribes indigenous to the areas the lodge serves,{{Cite web |date=2009 |title=What is the Order of the Arrow? |url=http://www.seattlebsa.org/media/resources/index.php?dir=All/What%20is%20the%20Order%20of%20the%20Arrow/&file=What%20is%20the%20Order%20of%20the%20Arrow.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107055400/http://www.seattlebsa.org/media/resources/index.php?dir=All%2FWhat%20is%20the%20Order%20of%20the%20Arrow%2F&file=What%20is%20the%20Order%20of%20the%20Arrow.pdf |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |access-date=November 2, 2017 |publisher=Chief Seattle Council, Boy Scouts of America |pages=6, 7}} but use of Native American sacred objects by non-Native groups such as the Boy Scouts has been condemned by Native activists. Mother of former Scouts Ozheebeegay Ikwe writes, "While native children in residential schools had their culture and language beaten from them, the Boy Scouts were using the language and their version of 'Indian culture' in their OA ceremony."{{Cite web |last=Ikwe |first=Ozheebeegay |title=Boys Scouts Order of the Arrow Guilty of Cultural Appropriation |url=http://lastrealindians.com/boys-scouts-order-of-the-arrow-guilty-of-cultural-appropriation-by-ozheebeegay-ikwe// |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403174520/https://lastrealindians.com/boys-scouts-order-of-the-arrow-guilty-of-cultural-appropriation-by-ozheebeegay-ikwe/ |archive-date=April 3, 2019 |access-date=July 1, 2019 |publisher=Last Real Indians}} She called the OA's use of headdresses, face paint, eagle feathers, and dancing with a pipe, "downright offensive". 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." American anthropologist John H. Moore, an expert on North American Indian ethnology, wrote in an essay published in 1998 that "of all the institutions in American society, the Boy Scouts of America have probably done the most damage in miseducating the public about Native American cultures...[the] Order of the Arrow annually initiates thousands of boys into the martial, romantic version of Indian culture through ceremonies drawn from the writings of Longfellow and James Fenimoore Cooper".{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_EA-UwvN_HUC&pg=PA299 |pages=271–305 |chapter=Truth and Tolerance in Native American Epistemology |title=Studying Native America: Problems and Prospects |editor1-first=Russell |editor1-last=Thornton |publisher=U of Wisconsin P |year=1998 |isbn=9780299160647 |first=John H. |last=Moore |author-link=John H. Moore}}

David Prochaska, professor in the University of Illinois History Department states the Order of the Arrow is one element that "exemplifies the much larger phenomenon of 'playing Indian'...Boy Scouts, Eagle Scouts, Order of the Arrow. Order of Red Men. Campfire Girls. Woodcraft. Boston Tea Party. 'White Indians' – white New Agers as Native American 'wannabes.' ... To pursue the argument a step further, what is 'playing Indian,' 'playing Native,' 'playing an Other,' all about? It is about play, for one thing, in the sense of dressing up, masquerade, the Bakhtinian carnivalesque...It is also about appropriation, in the sense of taking on, assuming an other's identity, taking another's identity. The implication here is replacing one with another, silencing another, speaking for another."{{Cite book |last1=King, C. Richard |title=Team Spirits: The Native American Mascots Controversy |last2=Springwood, Charles Fruehling |publisher=U of Nebraska Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0803277984 |pages=166}}

File:OA Call Out at Kia Kima Scout Reservation.jpg

Simon Mayo-Smith, a journalist and citizen of the Oglala Lakota Nation explains the concern of using Native American Headpieces:

“The headdress is reserved for our revered elders who, through their selflessness and leadership, have earned the right to wear one. It’s a spiritual garb, not just cultural; it’s not merely an addition to one’s attire. Wearing one, even an imitation headdress, belittles what our elders have spent a lifetime to earn.”{{cite news |title=Creating Boy Scout Ceremonies Without Taking Native American Cultural Property |url=https://medium.com/@mishablaise/creating-boy-scout-ceremonies-without-taking-native-american-cultural-property-382ad880cce3 |access-date=March 20, 2024}}

On July 23, 2018, the National Order of the Arrow Committee announced that they had received "many complaints surrounding these ceremonies from various American Indian tribes due to the manner in which they are conducted as well as the inconsistent nature in which they are performed."{{Cite web |date=July 23, 2018 |title=Official Arrow of Light and crossover ceremonies |url=https://oa-bsa.org/article/official-arrow-light-and-crossover-ceremonies |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306044125/https://oa-bsa.org/article/official-arrow-light-and-crossover-ceremonies |archive-date=March 6, 2019 |access-date=March 4, 2019 |publisher=Boy Scouts of America – Order of the Arrow}} In 2019, the rules were changed: "Scouts will no longer be allowed to dress up as 'Indians' and incorporate Native American motifs into two of the order's more important ceremonies", according to the Voice of America, which noted also that "in spite of complaints from tribes across the country, Scouts continue to dress in 'Redface,' a term some use to describe the wearing of feathers and warpaint by non-Native Americans."{{cite news |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/usa_native-americans-boy-scouts-stop-plundering-our-past/6173248.html |title=Native Americans to Boy Scouts: Stop Plundering Our Past |date=August 5, 2019 |first=Cecily |last=Hilleary |publisher=Voice of America |access-date=June 28, 2023}} In 2023, amid a backlash against stereotypes of Native Americans, Scouting America held a survey among its members about whether to eliminate or alter the rituals, including those for the OA.{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/native-american-appropriation-boy-scouts-rcna78373 |publisher=NBC News |title=Long accused of Indigenous misappropriation, Boy Scouts ask if it's time to change |date=April 18, 2023 |first=Graham Lee |last=Brewer |access-date=June 28, 2023}}

On December 23, 2023, the national Order of the Arrow leadership announced: "American Indian Activities (dancing, drumming, and crafts) will not be a part of the program at the 2024 National OA Conference." And, "There is not a single entity that speaks for the 574 federally recognized tribes/Indian nations across the United States and it is impossible for us to gain consensus amongst all the tribes/Indian nations. As a result, national-level American Indian programming is not appropriate."{{Cite web |date=2023-12-22 |title=American Indian Activities in the Order of the Arrow at 2024 NOAC {{!}} Order of the Arrow, Boy Scouts of America |url=https://oa-bsa.org/article/american-indian-activities-order-arrow-2024-noac |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231223003523/https://oa-bsa.org/article/american-indian-activities-order-arrow-2024-noac |archive-date=2023-12-23 |access-date=2023-12-26 |website=oa-bsa.org |language=en}}

In 2024, the organization announced that issuance of American Indian Vigil Honor names will stop. Native American-based competitions, training and other programs will be discontinued at the section and national level in 2025. The practice will remain open at the local level until January 1, 2026. At that time, "only lodges that have a formal relationship established with a state or federally recognized tribe in their area may engage in American Indian programming." Additional guidance on this item was distributed in December 2024 and additional training will be issued throughout 2025.{{Cite web |date=2024-09-24 |title=Policy Update: Changes Regarding American Indian Programming|url=https://oa-scouting.org/article/policy-update-changes-regarding-american-indian-programming |access-date=2024-11-08 |website=oa-bsa.org |language=en}}

As evident in the history of the Order of the Arrow, the organization started with a large influence of Freemasonry. In the 1930s, it underwent a replacement of the Masonic vocabulary to avoid offending religious groups, including the Catholic Church and some protestant denominations who have long-standing concerns with Freemasonry.{{Cite web |title=History - OA Obligation Timeline |url=https://oa-bsa.org/history/oa-obligation-timeline |access-date=March 14, 2024 |publisher=Order of the Arrow}} Since then, the OA has grown to be an important part of Scouting America throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. However, the debate about its relationship with Freemasonry is not over.

Those who put forward this idea believe that the Order of the Arrow is still today a Masonic organization and has not shed its Masonic nature. Several articles have been published since the 1990s expending on this idea. They point to the history of the OA and the current similarities that persist between Freemasonry and the present-day Order of the Arrow in its organization, secret ceremonies, and other rituals:

• Freemasonry, Scouting and the Order of the Arrow by S.M. Adkins{{Cite web |last=Adkins |first=S.M. |title=Freemasonry, Scouting and the Order of the Arrow |url=http://100megsfree4.com/stimso/oa1.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080315065620/http://www.100megsfree4.com/stimso/oa1.htm |archive-date=March 15, 2008 |access-date=March 19, 2008}} with two follow-up articles titled Following Arrows{{Cite web |title=Following Arrows by S. M. Adkins - |url=http://phoenixmasonry.org/following_arrows.htm |access-date=March 14, 2024 |publisher=Phoenix Masonry}} and Yes, Virginia, it was called the 'Blood Rite'.{{Cite web |title='Yes, Virginia, it was called the 'Blood Rite' |url=http://www.phoenixmasonry.org/yes_virginia_it_was_called_the_blood_rite.htm |access-date=March 14, 2024 |publisher=Phoenix Masonry}}
• Freemasonry Has Infiltrated the Boy Scouts? by John Salza which provides a Catholic specific perspective{{Cite web |title=Order of the Arrow a Boyscouts Freemasonic ceremony Salza |url=http://catholicintl.com/articles/OrderoftheArrow-JohnSalza.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240105142018/https://isidore.co/misc/Res%20pro%20Deo/Other%20Documents/Order%20of%20the%20Arrow%2C%20a%20Boyscouts%20Freemasonic%20ceremony%20%28Salza%29.doc |archive-date=January 5, 2024 |access-date=March 14, 2024 |publisher=Catholic International}}
• The Order of the Arrow, Another Mason Ritual? by John R. Goodwin{{Cite web |last=Goodwin |first=John R. |date=January 25, 1997 |title=The Order of the Arrow, Another Masonic Ritual? |url=http://www.vamason.org/ra1753/papers/1arrow.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080506123512/http://www.vamason.org/ra1753/papers/1arrow.htm |archive-date=May 6, 2008 |access-date=March 19, 2008 |website=Grand Chapter Royal Arch Masons of Virginia}}
• Scouting and Freemasons in Freemasons for Dummies by Christopher HodappFreemasons for Dummies - Chapter 13: The Extended Masonic Family - page 249

The Order of the Arrow has not addressed directly the question of its present ties to Freemasonry. But on its official website, the OA does not shy away from its past by using the old Masonic terminology similar in a historical context and acknowledging that this terminology may well have come from the Masonic fraternal system:

"In 1921 Wimachtendienk, W.W. (a common way at the time of referring to what we know as the Order of the Arrow) was ready to have a national structure. Patterned similar to the Freemasons, it was decided that each lodge would become a member of the Grand Lodge."{{Cite web |title=First Meeting of the Grand Lodge {{!}} Order of the Arrow, Boy Scouts of America |url=https://oa-bsa.org/history/first-meeting-grand-lodge |access-date=2024-02-29 |website=oa-bsa.org |language=en}}

"The usage of the term “Grand Lodge” appears to have come from the Masonic fraternal system that also calls their national organization the Grand Lodge."{{Cite web |title=The Grand Lodge |url=https://oa-bsa.org/history/grand-lodge |access-date=2024-03-22 |website=oa-bsa.org |language=en}}

It also acknowledges that it was required to change this terminology in the 1930s:

"As part of the agreement made by the OA National Executive Committee with Scouting America to become an official part of the Boy Scout program the OA agreed to change certain terminology effective January 1, 1935 (although not disseminated to local lodges until April 23, 1935). Scouting America was concerned about heavy reliance on Masonic fraternal terms in the Order. So the term “lodge” which is what Masons call their local groupings was replaced with the word “tribe”. Instead of Unami Lodge and Owasippe Lodge, they became Unami Tribe and Owasippe Tribe. Likewise the Masons use of the term “Grand” to describe their highest governing body was changed to “National”. Thus the OA’s Grand Lodge would become known as the National Tribe and the Grand Chieftain would become known as the National Chieftain. Similarly, the term “Degree” became “Honor” and the term “Password” became “Admonition”. The term “Manitou” referring to a deity was completely eliminated from ceremonies, this being done to satisfy religious groups concerns."{{Cite web |title=Changes in Terminology |url=https://oa-bsa.org/history/changes-terminology |access-date=2024-03-22 |website=oa-bsa.org |language=en}}

The OA also recognizes and respects the right of any parent, Scout leader and religious leader to have questions about the OA and its safeguarded ceremonies prior to a scout joining the organization. It provides a formal process to answer these questions with the lodge adviser or his designee. If questions remain after this meeting, the adults will be permitted to read the current ceremony text used in the Ordeal to make an informed decision. As scouts are minors, parents have the final say to allow or disallow their child to join the organization. Some exceptions can also be granted to allow parents to attend the ceremony itself under certain conditions.{{Cite web |title=Ask the Chairman - Ordeal Guests/Parents |url=https://oa-scouting.org/article/ask-chairman-ordeal-guestsparents |access-date=2024-11-08 |website=oa-bsa.org |language=en}}

{{See also|Papal ban of Freemasonry| Christian attitudes towards Freemasonry}}

{{reflist|30em}}

• [http://www.oaimages.com/ The Internet Guide to OA Insignia]

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