In January 1946, members of the now-defunct Moskwa Lodge (Fort Simcoe Area Council) inducted four Blue Mountain Council Scouts into the Order of the Arrow, giving birth to our Lodge.

The name “Wa-la-moot-kin” was chosen to honor the Nez Perce band of the same name which lived in the Wallowa Valley prior to the arrival of the settlers and was led at the end by Chief Joe (Hinmatóowyalahtq̓it – “thunder rolling down the mountains”). The precise meaning of Wa-la-moot-kin is not recorded; however, one thought is that it might be derived from the Nez Perce word ‘iwetemlaykin’, which means ‘at the edge of the lake’.

The mountain sheep was selected as the lodge totem because it is native to the Eagle Cap Wilderness Area in the Wallowa Mountains, where the former Blue Mountain Council camp, Camp Wallowa, was located.

The number 336 was given by the national office, as it was the 336th lodge to be granted a charter. Wa-la-moot-kin Lodge received its first official charter on March 4, 1946.

For more detailed information about our Lodge’s history, ask at the Council Office about the book Council Fires, last updated in 2021 by Mark Hendricks.