Leaderboard

I'm not that familiar with rules for regalia, so I have what may be a basic question: are there rules (formal or informal) around needing to have a family connection to the place/people the regalia is for? I ask because it reminds me a bit of how folk dress works in the Nordic countries. Each locale has its own and wearing it is a statement of being from the place the folk dress is from. They may not be commercially down, they must be hand-sown and ideally inherited. If you roll up to a Midsummer celebration in a folk dress for a place you have no connection to, you're going to be seen as

Also, when you look at a youth’s first few experiences with the oa, it really does show a very specific aspect of the program. The call out and the ordeal happening together really do make it seem like the oa is primarily about lots of mediocre quality cosplay. Making it through all of that to the service and leadership society can be tough.

Perhaps I'm in the minority, but I was never really comfortable using Native American imagery as a youth in the OA. I also attended a college that used a Native American athletics mascot - same deal there. I'm hardly the PC-type, but neither felt right and I still avoid the use of certain logos out of respect for individuals who may not be accurately represented by the OA- and NCAA-sanctioned symbolism. Again - not trying to make waves, but I suspect there is a silent majority on the issue who are largely indifferent, but (if pressed) would prefer to move on to something less likely

When I first asked " Why have Scouts" I said that I have never heard a kid say that they wanted to be a Scout because they wanted to be a good citizen, learn leadership, or become a good money manager. Every kid says that they wanted to be a Scout in order to "HAVE FUN" and its just that simple. Everything else is just a byproduct of having fun thats supervised and directed by adults. Unfortunately horrible people took advantage of their trusted position and bad things happened. Now Scouting is overregulated and common sense has been removed from the equation. Throw in some egocentric a

Parent of a potential scout who is still getting to know the adults and doesn;t trust us yet with their child's first camp out?

AES, I experienced this while I was in Sweden as well, and looked (admiringly) at it as a deep connection to familial, community, and cultural roots. You have expressed well exactly what the issue is here... people who have no connection with something deeply meaningful (to those with a connection to the culture) are making attempts (often poor) to copy (with sometimes embarrassing results) for no reason other than some fictional ceremonial purposes. Thank you for putting a "Scandanavian" slant on the context of this discussion. It is helpful to shed light on the issue. (Min fafar

I think you are in the majority. This perspective is part of the curriculum and/or character education programs in a lot of public schools today, maybe most, beginning at the early elementary grades and has been for at least 10 years. Kids who learn one level of awareness in the school and community setting are frequently uncomfortable with the different viewpoints and practices that they encounter in the scouting environment. We went from having a handful of OA candidates each year to having zero for the last several I was involved. The NA aspect wasn't a draw, it was a deterrent as far as we

Interesting as the youth members of my troop want the Native American imagery removed.

Frankly, it also hurts recruitment of trained leaders: many people don't sign up for something blind. The all-natural intoxicant called "wood smoke" has sealed many a deal.

Not every Scout comes from Cubs.

I do not mean this as an insult, but there is nothing in my own personal experience with Scouting (I joined in 1975) that leads me to believe that BSA is the right organization to handle a sensitive issue like this successfully. I mean that from National to local. I don't doubt that some professionals and volunteers could navigate this minefield successfully, but, again, my own personal experience leads me to disbelieve that such success would be across the board. I know National can't do it, and inconsistent results across councils or districts, or among different MBCs, will just cause BSA

A lot of leaders don't realize how often they have to repeat, "We need you here. You're welcome. Get trained come camping with us. Sit and fish. The coffee will be strong and hot. Yes, we let scouts do their thing. No we don't want parents to badger kids about advancement. Yes we need you to encourage your scout. We also need you to enjoy watching him/her grow strong and good." If we don't do that enough, we will seem hostile.

Go camping with the troop --- a lot. Everything that's really important happens at campouts, not at meetings, not advancement, campouts! If you're on the campouts, and I mean several in a row, you have both good knowledge about how the troop runs and whether it can run better, and you have built credibility both by having that knowledge and by being able to tie your ideas to your experiences.

The best way to get involved is to talk to the Committee Chair and ask what areas the troop may need assistance from wrt a Scouter. If the response is "we're covered", well that could be a possible red flag. If the response is "we need help in the xyz area", determine if that is something you want to get involved in. What you don't want to do is go in being demonstrative about a bunch of changes needed (even if they are) right from the get go. IMHO, as a Scouter, do you want to work with the Committee behind the scenes or do you want to work with the youth in concert with the

I agree, the decision has already been made. It was made by a committee of self serving adults without regard to what the youth members want. Nobody at any level has ever answered any direct questions about anything. Even face to face those people answer with nonsense and vague information. Exactly who are the native Americans who object? What particular tribe do they represent? What standing do they have within their tribe? Are they acting with authority of tribal leaders? If these questions could be addressed there could be validity in these concerns. Or maybe the BSA is worried tha