Tatanka Lodge HistoryThis page is an excerpt from Frank Hilton's Tatanka Lodge History, which can be found here.
Order of the Arrow Founded in 1915
Founded in 1938 in Buffalo Trail Council
"In 1938 an organization not known to most Scouts of the council
was introduced to the boys at summer camp, the Order of the Arrow.
In a story that appeared in the Sweetwater Reporter on February 9, 1939, H. D. Reed, J. W. Pendergrass (Eagle Scout) and Henry Roberts, Jr. were listed as youth members from Sweetwater. Adults included were Charles Ritter, Billy White, Jimmie Beall, DeWitt Conley and Charles Paxton. All were elected the previous summer at Scout Summer Camp (1938) held at Camp Fawcett near Barksdale, TX.
Photo at right is of Warren Wallace performing the Eagle Dance.
The photo is part of a larger display that is hanging at Buffalo Trail
Scout Ranch.
Totem
This was first issued in 1954 and is the first pocket-flap of the lodge. Notice how the buffalo has changed shape from the patch above. According to the Blue Book, 3rd Edition. some 106 different patches have been issued in the lodge. Of course some of them are just different loom runs of the same patch with a few stitch variations in the run. The buffalo in the patch has evolved over the years from being all black to black and brown, to brown and white, black and white and finally in about 1987 to a white buffalo as shown on your right above.
"My earliest memories of the Tatanka Lodge came when I arrived at BTSR in the Summer Camp of 1972. Our troop was small, and had just started the fall before. I was a brand new Tenderfoot, and excited about going to camp. Every where I went was evidence of the OA.; Totem poles, the Buffalos at the entrance, and OA Springs. It was all so mysterious, and no one would really tell me anything about it. Then Friday came, and all the families began to arrive. Supper was really quite good, and as the evening turned to dusk everyone began to gather at the chow hall. There were all these Scouts with Arrowmen sashes and their coup beads. Everyone grew quiet, and then these Scouts in authentic looking Indian costumes came in silence. I started to laugh but no one else even seem to think this was strange. We were instructed to to be silent as we were lead down a path lighted by smudge pots, and along the way more serious faced Indians were standing on the rocks above us. Our guide lead with a torch; the second guide brought up the rear, and also had a torch. We were lead in the gathering darkness to the council fire, where we were seated, and the Indians disappeared. The various members of camp staff gave awards and other instructions were given. "And then the Indian dancers came and danced to the ancient songs. It was a show of brilliant colors and the hard work of months of research and practice. As a young Scout, though it was just fascinating. When the dancers were through, the lights slowly dimmed, and we became conscious of torches on the road above the council ring. Almost at the same time, high up on Forbidden Mountain, the WWWs were lit. The Tap Out team came down the road and came into the ring; one torch went to a stack of wood on the right, and the other went to the wood on the left, and at the same time the torches were tossed into the wood and the council fire leapt to life. One of the Indians called to another to check and see if the fire was properly set and cheerfully burning. And then the four chiefs began the Tap Out ceremony. As each name was called out in a loud voice, a runner was dispatched to retrieve the Scout. Suddenly, a name was called, a runner dispatched, and the Scout next to me was taken to the ring! "It was at this time I realized it could be me someday. Each candidate
was taken to the ring where one of the chiefs would take him by the shoulders
and thrust him towards one of the others. In response, The chief placed
his hands on the shoulders of the candidate, and with three swift taps
to his shoulder, lowered his hands, and folded them at his chest. The candidate
was then turned to the next chief, who took his coup beads off, and with
his hands spread at shoulder's width, put his coup beads over the head
of the candidate, and tapped both shoulders at the same time. The candidate
was given a single eagle's claw, and then rushed off into the darkness
up the dry creek bed. Later I found out that each was told not to speak
until after breakfast and were to carve an arrow for their ordeal, which
was usually held at the end of the summer camp. Ordeals were also held
in late May, and late August. We called them Work Weekends, and they all
usually had ordeal candidates on the trail."
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Currently
the lodge has 616 Arrowmen and has been recognized by OA National as an
honor lodge. For the past sixty-four years the lodge has served cheerfully
throughout numerous projects at the Buffalo Trails Scout Ranch, Camp Ed
Murphy, and Hughes Aquatic Base. They have just in the last
couple of years finished a project at Buffalo Trail Scout Ranch called
the "Great Wall" which extended the parade ground. Also with help of an
OA National matching grant, they were able to supply water to the back
country of Buffalo Trails Scout Ranch which has helped greatly to facilitate
their programs out that way. At Hughes Aquatic Base, located on Lake Colorado
City, the lodge has started two massive projects that will take some time
yet to complete. One is the building of many pavilions at the campsites
to help provide shade. The second is that they moved a house from property
donated to the council to the camp to serve as a new medic hut. The house
has been moved, but still much work needs to be done fixing it up.
