For over 75 years the Order of the Arrow’s Walamootkin Lodge has recognized Scouts and Scouters who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives. This recognition encourages others to live these ideals as well.

Arrowmen are expected to maintain camping traditions and Scout spirit, promote year-round and long term resident camping, and provide cheerful service to their Unit, Council and community.

OA service, activities, adventures, and training for youth and adults are models of quality high adventure and leadership development programs that  extend the Scouting program for older or more experienced Scouts.

Mission

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

Purpose

As Scouting’s National Honor Society, our purpose is to:

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Develop leaders with the willingness, character, spirit and ability to advance the activities of their units, our Brotherhood, Scouting, and ultimately our nation.
  • Crystallize the Scout habit of helpfulness into a life purpose of leadership in cheerful service to others.

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 rank, 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.
Membership Levels

While there are three levels of membership (called “honors”) in the Order of the Arrow, all members—regardless of honor—are considered equal.

Induction

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

Brotherhood Membership

After 6 months of service as an Ordeal member and fulfilling certain requirements, a member may take part in the Brotherhood ceremony, which places further emphasis on the ideals of Scouting and the Order. Completion of this ceremony signifies full membership in the Order.

Vigil Honor

After two years of exceptional service as a Brotherhood member, and with the approval of the national Order of the Arrow committee, a Scout or Scouter may be recognized with the Vigil Honor for their distinguished contributions to their lodge, the Order of the Arrow, Scouting, or their Scout camp. This honor is bestowed by special selection and is limited to one person for every 50 members registered with the lodge each year.

The most direct way to schedule an election is to respond to the email sent to Unit Leaders by our Lodgemaster system. If you have not received an email, or are having trouble with the scheduling form, you can always email us directly at walamootkin.oa@gmail.com.

The former Moskwa Lodge (now Tataliya Lodge ) performed a service to the brotherhood in 1946. The service was the induction of four Blue Mountain Scouts into the Order of the Arrow and the birth of the Wa-La-Moot-Kin Lodge. The four Scouts inducted and a Scout Executive adopted the name Wa-La-Moot-Kin from a Lower Nez Perce band of Indians who lived in Oregon’s Wallowa Valley.

Research shows that Old Chief Joseph (father of the Chief Joseph famous for his resistance to leaving the Wallowa Valley) was known as Wallamotkin. In fact, several alternative spellings are known to exist.

The ram’s head was selected as the lodge totem because mountain sheep once roamed the Eagle Cap area of the Wallowa mountains near the upper Wallowa Valley. The ram’s head has been a trademark for the Blue Mountain Council since it’s beginning in 1929.

A complete history of Wa-La-Moot-Kin Lodge is available in the book Council Fires, by L. Holland St. John and Mark Hendricks.

To learn more visit our historical page.

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