Camp Tribes   Elsewhere I’ve gone in depth explaining the themes of Boy Scout camp; Tenure, Achievement and Honors. These themes get all mixed together in Camp Tribes. The only difference is that the programs are identified as a Tribes rather than another name and the word Tribe is often intermixed with another name. Camp Tribes usually combine aspects of Tenure, Achievement and Honors. Each one is different, but there is a common theme. A Scout must have tenured (2 or 3 year) camper to become a member of the Tribe. There is usually some advancement often called Brave, Warrior and Chief. Or other names like Medicine Man or Warrior. Research in recent years has lead me to realize that many of the earliest Tribes are adopted from portions of Ernest Thompson Seaton’s, Tribe of Woodcraft Indians. Although it must be noted that so many of these things are generic it’s possible that they sprung from the minds of local Scouters. By 1920 scouting professionals were attending regional and national training meetings. Ideas were exchanged and programs moved from one camp to another. As scouting grew and professional men transferred from one council to another camp programs traveled with them. Men from Indianapolis or Cincinnati might promote Firecrafters or Kunieh. Men from Columbus, OH might promote White Swastika. Men in the middle-west adopted 4M or Nani Ba Zu, etc. Some of the Honor Groups which I’ll cover separately originally started as Tribes. Individual camp tribes were especially prevalent in Old Region 12 (California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah). Again probably spread by scouting professionals moving in the region. The majority of OA lodges in old Region 12 were organized after 1944 (Los Angeles). The Tribe was usually associated with the camp but some were associated with the local council. Some tribes existed with the OA.   Groups with Multiple Locations These groups are similar to Tribes and it must be pointed out that the word “tribe” is sometimes substituted or added to the name of the group. In Michigan TIPISI was the Tribe of Tipisi, but the word Tribe was omitted elsewhere. Gimogash is another example Tribe of Gimogash some places and just Gimogash in others. These groups had no national governing body and each camp/council adapted the program to their needs. Some groups existed for yeard and insignia changed,or insignia was specific to individual camps. Above Right - TIPISI (the Red teepee) founded by George Crossland in Michigan, moved to Indiana and Florida. Dave Eby of Toledo has done some excellent research on Ti Pi Si.   Other camp groups that existed at a single camp   These groups existed at a single camp but had a name different from the name of the camp and not Tribe. This is an enormous field. It’s become my belief that a very high percentage of camps has some sort of camp program. Some existed for just a short time and perhaps changed when another Scout Executive came to town Others existed for generations. For a listing see Dave Eby’s work on the Scouting Project. I will add information on each group as it becomes available. I solicit people with local knowledge to share it and I’ll give credit. This is just a small sampling of the hundreds of groups that existed.   Council or the Mystic Oak Washington DC, Camp Rosevelt   The Clan of Mystic Oak was an active group at Camp Roosevelt founded about 1929. They had levels of membership and numerous pieces of insignia. Thomas Reddin does an excellent job of describing CMO on the http://usscouts.org/honorsociety/clanmysticoak.asp website. We were given permission to use that information on that site that you can view here. Camp Beanies exist for the different degrees The organization began a slow decline during WW II. Many of the Sachems and officers were in the military. In 1952 the organization was disbanded and a new Order of the Arrow lodge was started. There was some discussion about using the Mystic Oak name for the new OA Lodge but that suggestion was abandoned. To the left - This s an example of a very early camp group. A couple of pieces of felt. Only members would know what it represented. Some of these early groups were “secret” societies. Contact Rob Kutz   San Francisco Area Council Camp Emblem, 1920-30's   Charles C Moore In 1914 “The World Almanac” made the first telephone call across the United States when it phoned Charles C. Moore (who at that time was President of the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco) regarding the opening of the Worlds fair in San Francisco. In 1919 Charles C Moore was elected President of the San Francisco Council after the sudden death of its first President Jesse Lilienthal. Moore would serve as President of the San Francisco Council from 1919 until 1928. During this time Charles Moore was instrumental in opening its first permanent Scout Camp at Pine Lake, acquiring the Watson Ranch in Cazadero for use as a Scout camp in 1925 and acquiring the Kent Estate in Fairfax for another Scout Camp. Moore would also serve as the Vice-President of the National Boy Scouts of America in 1928 and in 1930 he would be presented with the Silver Buffalo award, the highest honor that the National Boy Scouts of American can present. Charles Moore died in April of 1932. Camp Royaneh is officially renamed Camp Moore At the April 13, 1938 board meeting of the San Francisco Council, the camping committee recommended to the Executive Board to change the name of Camp Royaneh to Camp C.C. Moore in order to “perpetuate the name of Mr. Charles C. Moore”. The motion passed the board thereby officially changing the name of Camp Royaneh to Camp C.C. Moore. Although Moore died in 1932 an unsubstantiated rumor has it that the board was expecting the wife of Charles Moore to eventually leave the Moore estate to the Council either when she died or at some other time. It is unknown if this is true or not, but the name of Camp Moore was no longer being used after 1950-1951. This may be due to the dedicated staff, campers and other persons associated with Royaneh that would not let the name Royaneh (named by Scout George Hart in 1925) disappear. However from 1938 until 1950 the name Camp Moore was used on all Council literature when it referred to the camp formerly known as Royaneh. The name of “Royaneh” never disappeared as the term was still used by the San Francisco Council to refer to their two camps (Camp Moore and Camp Lilienthal) as “Royaneh Camps”. The patch used at both Camp Moore and Camp Lilienthal was the same patch however if you attended Camp Moore you received an “M” to attach to your patch or an “L” if you attended Camp Lilienthal. This lasted until the 1950’s when patches specific to Camp Royaneh and Camp Lilienthal were released after the name of Camp Moore disappeared for good. Above Right Patches Identification Awards for Attendance R- Camp Royaneh L- Camp Lilienthal MC- Cresent M Camp M- Camp More CoR - Council Camporee Star on Left Side - Indicates year as a leader Star on Right Side - Indicates each year as a camper Campers 1st year - Green Star - Papoose 2nd year - Red Star - Brave 3rd year - Blue Star - Warrior 4th years - Purple Star - Chief's Council Leaders Gold Star - Junior Leader Silver Star - Senior Leader In order to obtain Letters or Stars, there must be 7 consecutive days in camp.     Paul Myers Goshen, Indiana gimogash@comcast.net