In 1915, on a wooded Island in Delaware, the Order of the Arrow was founded by E. Urner Goodman and Carroll A. Edson. On Treasure Island in Philadelphia, the first ceremony took place with only a few being inducted that year.  Over the years, the Order spread slowly across the nation.  In 1926, Camp Naish opened as property of the Boy Scouts of America, Kaw Council.  As the Order spread, it reached Camp Naish in 1939, where Tamegonit Lodge became the 147th Lodge to charter with the National Council.

As the Order grew at Camp Naish, Tamegonit Lodge developed a reputation for strong leadership and value.  One of the first of such leaders was James Feil, who in 1953-1954 served as National Order of the Arrow Conference Chief, one of the first in the position that would later become National Chief.  James’s father, L. George Feil began 18 years of services as the National Chairman of Order of the Arrow starting 1956.  In 1958 Tamegonit Lodge was again honored by being asked to host the bi-annual National Order of the Arrow Conference, which was held at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, KS.

Tamegonit Lodge continued on, having its 25th anniversary in 1964, just one year before the 50th anniversary of the Order of the Arrow.  While Tamegonit Lodge was growing, a major event loomed on its horizon, poised to launch Tamegonit Lodge into a greater and better era.  In 1974, the Kaw Council and the Kansas City Area Council merged to form the Heart of America Council.  Tamegonit Lodge had now almost doubled in size thanks to this fortunate merger. Just two years later, in 1976, the Theodore Naish Scout Reservation celebrated its 50th Anniversary, another milestone for the camp that our Order had sat on all those years.  In 1979, Mary Lee Feil and Louise Goodman received the Red Arrow Award. Mary was the mother of James and husband of L. George, thus bringing more success and recognition to our Lodge.  Furthermore, Founder’s Recipient Ed Hubert was honored in 1981 by being the first Founder’s Award ever; the award presented was by the 1981 National Chief Brad Starr.

In 1989, the 50th anniversary of Tamegonit Lodge ushered in yet another age of cheerful service and brotherhood in Tamegonit Lodge, just one year before the 75th anniversary of Order of the Arrow.  At the 50th anniversary celebration, the Tamegonit Lodge Great House was dedicated, thus reaffirming the presence of Tamegonit Lodge in the Heart of America Council.

Through the 1990’s and the new millennium, Tamegonit Lodge went on establishing success in many areas. Tamegonit Lodge’s ceremonial teams have been recognized nationally many times, being praised for their excellent Native American attire at almost every National Order of the Arrow Conference since 1992.  Furthermore, several members of the lodge were recognized with the Distinguished Service Award*. Tamegonit Lodge has also been honored with the E. Urner Goodman Camping Award. 

As the 100th Anniversary of the Order of the Arrow (2015) was arriving, Tamegonit Lodge was celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2014. During this time, the Lodge led a capital campaign to update the Whippoorwill ceremony ring and reached an all time high member count of 4,628. From 2013-2015, Tamegonit Lodge was the largest lodge in the nation. During the 2015 NOAC, 160 Tamegonit Lodge members attended, the largest contingent we’ve ever sent, and 47 members of Tamegonit Lodge received the Centurion award. 

Since then, Tamegonit lodge has continued to lead the way for the Order of the Arrow. In 2019, the lodge held a special Winter Induction and inducted the first youth female arrowmen in the Nation. When Covid-19 impacted the scouting community, Tamegonit lodge was the first lodge in the nation to hold a virtual OA election.