The National Committee of the Order of the Arrow passed a resolution amending its membership policies to align them with the changes approved by the BSA Board of Directors. The new OA membership policy provides for OA elections in all BSA Scout troops, venturer crews and Sea Scout ships from 1 February 2019 and allows male and female members of their units to be elected to the Order of the Arrow. The new terms and conditions and other relevant information about membership guidelines can be found at the top of this page. Goodman founded the OA because he wanted to teach Scouts that learning and practicing Scouting skills is not enough to be called a true Scout. On the contrary, a true Scout had to learn all these Scout skills while actively and constantly living according to the Scout Oath and the law. The decision as to the specific camping that corresponds to the spirit and intent of the camping requirement rests with the head of unit of the unit in which the young person is considered for election. It is preferable that camping requirements be met within the unit in which the youth is considered for choice (i.e. troop, crew or vessel); However, there may be extenuating circumstances (e.g., in cases where a youth has not had the opportunity to meet the requirement with the unit) that make it appropriate for Unit Leaders to consider alternative BSA camping experiences (e.g., an adventurer counting completed camping nights with a troop or nights of camping completed while serving as a staff member at a council or a national high adventure base). have been completed). In all cases, the Head of Unit must ensure that the spirit and intent of the requirement has been met (i.e. It was actually referred to as outdoor camping). The Order of the Arrow elections have also been controversial, as they are little more than popularity contests, especially in troops where Scouts attend the same schools and are friends outside the troops. As a result, deserving scouts, who are not popular with their fellow troops, are often excluded from the Order of the Arrow.
In larger troops, the election of young scouts almost never takes place, as older scouts dominate the leadership of the troop and often elect only their colleagues and not several younger years. The President of the Order of the Arrow acknowledged in 2011 that the elections were difficult and that steps had been taken to encourage adult leaders to make greater efforts to convey to members of the force the seriousness of membership in the Order of the Arrow. [69] In many cases, members of the Order of the Arrow may also intentionally keep their affiliation secret, as it is preferable to initiate new OA members without prior knowledge of the program. In fact, it might be hard to find scouts who openly admit that they are members of the Order of the Arrow unless you ask them directly. Unit elections are allowed in BSA, Venturing and Sea Scout units. The conditions for membership in the Order of the Arrow are as follows: The focus is on the third requirement, according to which individuals must be elected by their fellow Scouts in order to be qualified to begin their candidacy for free will. Normally, elections to the Order of the Arrows are held only once a year, usually at the end of Scout summer camps (as this is how the first members of the OA were inducted). According to the official membership requirements of the Order of the Arrow, open access candidates must: After attending OA related meetings and events for 6 months and meeting certain requirements, the candidate can attend the Fraternity ceremony! In the end, they are recognized as full members of the Order of the Arrow. Well, according to their website, the Order of the Arrow serves as a “brotherhood” for Scouts who exemplify the Scout Oath and the law. In the OA, all members refer to each other as “brothers” (even girls) and strive to enhance Scouting through their ideals of brotherhood, cheerfulness and service. The use of Native American sacred objects by non-Native American groups such as the Boy Scouts has been condemned by Native American activists. [62] [5] [63] The mother of former Scouts, Ozheebeegay Ikwe, writes: “While Indigenous children were stripped of their culture and language in residential schools, Scouts used language and their version of `Indian culture` in their osteoarthritis ceremony.
[67] She points out that the proper use of the “drum, pipe and eagle feather,” as well as other sacred ways, is a great responsibility in Native American cultures, that “traditional ways are not costumes,” and that these sacred ways are still part of the lives of Native Americans who want them to be preserved intact for their own children. instead of being used by “anyone”. [67] She described the OA`s use of head coverings, face painting, eagle feathers and dancing with a pipe as “downright offensive.” After researching the OA and observing its ceremonies, she said, “The use of these objects by Scouts shows that there is very little understanding of the indigenous people who are supposed to admire and respect them.” [67] The Order of the Arrow has always been very picky about its members, which has helped the organization to maintain its honourable values! In order for motivated scouts to join the Order of the Brotherhood of the Arrows, they had to be elected by their comrades. In my own experience and research, the vast majority of OA members are older Scouts who are in eighth grade or higher. This is because, in order to be eligible for the election of troops to the OA, you must meet certain requirements. Young people can be elected to more than one unit. To be eligible, youth must normally meet the applicable requirements of the BSA program in which they are considered (Adventurer, Sea Scouts or BSA Scouts). The only exception could be compliance with camping requirements.
