The Boy Scouts of America founded in 1910 and was organized by councils. Councils began implementing the Order of the Arrow program and creating OA lodges. The Order of the Arrow is Scouting’s National Honor Society, recognizing those who best live the Scout Oath & Law through cheerful service. The councils were spread out throughout each state. Wisconsin had many councils early on and OA lodges began in the 1930’s. Over time, some councils consolidated and merged into larger ones, creating new lodge names. The charts below show the council names, the cities they were based out of, the lodge name, and the lodge number they were issued by BSA national headquarters. Starting in 2004, National stopped issuing lodge numbers. Lodges formed since then typically use a number from one of the merged lodges or use the council number.

The goal for this website is to display the insignias, in chronological order, used by Wisconsin Order of the Arrow lodges, and were worn on the Scout uniforms of that time period. On a larger scale I hope to include information on the council camps and the Native American tribes that were, and are, active in what is now the state of Wisconsin.

The founders of the Order of the Arrow held in high regard the spirit and nobility of Native Americans. Many OA traditions, such as the ceremonies, and the customs of self-reliance, self-denial, service tasks, and brotherhood, were inspired the Lenni Lenape Indian tribe in Delaware. The Order of the Arrow was founded in 1915 by E Urner Goodman and Carroll A Edson and originated at the Treasure Island Scout Camp in the Delaware river, near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.