The Order of the Arrow has more than 160,000 active members located in lodges affiliated with over 270 Scouting America local councils. As of August 2018, there is now an OA lodge in every council across the United States.
Vigil Honor @ MK Brown
- Sept 5-6, 2025
Fall Fellowship @ CDH
- 11/7/2025 – Fun and Fellowship
- 11/8/2025 – Officer Elections and Lunch Banquet
Unit Elections Deadline – May 1, 2026
Section Conclave @ Camp Pirtle near Carthage
- 4/17-19/2026
Beaver Day @ MK Brown
- 5/1-3/2026
- 6pm Friday arrival
- Sunday noon departure
Summer Ordeal @ Camp Don
- 7/24-26/2026
- 5 pm Friday arrival
- Sunday noon departure
Fall Program Preview @ CDH
- supporting role- Date TBD
Vigil Honor @ Camp MK Brown
- 10/9-10/2026
- 6pm Friday arrival
- Saturday noon departure
Fall Fellowship @ Camp Don
- 11/7-8/2026
- 8pm Saturday arrival (LEC 5:30/6:00)
- Sunday departure (time TBD)
Section Conclave
- 4/16-18/2027
- ?? Exact dates and location TBD
Beaver Day @ Camp MK Brown
- 4/30/2027 – 5/2/2027
Summer Ordeal @ Camp Don
- 7/30/2027 – 8/1/2027
NOAC @ University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Conference Dates: July 26–31
- The delegate group will choose final travel plans in early 2026
Vigil Honor @ Camp MK Brown
- 10/1-2/2027
Fall Fellowship
- 11/5-6/2027
The Nischa Achowalogen Lodge, Order of the Arrow is a part of the Golden Spread Council
- To learn more about the Order of the Arrow, please follow the links on the left sidebar to the National, Southern Region, and Section OA websites.
Vision, Mission & Purpose
For over 100 years, the Order of the Arrow (OA) has recognized Scouts and Scouters who exemplify the Scout Oath and Law daily. The OA is Scouting’s National Honor Society. As an integral part of Scouting America, the OA delivers peer-led advanced leadership experiences that help to build lifelong bonds through service and enrich each member’s Scouting journey. OA members are defined by the fellowship they share, service to others, commitment to personal growth, and self-driven initiative to make a difference in their community.
Vision
To be why Scouts want to stay in Scouting.
Mission
To achieve the mission of Scouting America through transformative fellowship that ignites limitless Scouting journeys.
Purpose
As Scouting’s National Honor Society, we forge lifelong bonds among the leaders in Scouting and:
- Recognize those who exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives and, through that recognition, cause others to act in the same way.
- Reinforce a life purpose of leadership in cheerful service to others.
- Create and deliver peer-led, adult-guided, advanced leadership experiences for Scouts and Scouters that positively impact their unit, community, and ultimately our nation.
- Be an integral part of Scouting America and encourage participation in all it offers through units, outdoor adventures, and national events to further the Scouting experience.
Membership
Membership Requirements
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 Scouting 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 Scouting 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.
Candidates selected as of January 1, 2023, will have 18 months from the date of election to complete their 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.
OA Election Information- Updated 9/1/2025
Unit Election Information Sheet
Lodge Officer Elections Information– Updated Sept 1, 2025
Attention all OA Members……..Updated 8/23/2022
In order to receive your OA Membership Card and to see your OA Information on Lodgemaster, you must provide a personal email for each member (if you use your adult email address but you have a youth OA member as well, there must be two DIFFERENT email addresses).
To get your card and login information, email Stephen.Keel@scouting.org with the email address and name.
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