25 recent national- and regional-level Order of the Arrow youth officers, who were in office 2016-2022, have called for OA to end its cultural appropriation. Several of them affirmed this letter’s authenticity to me.
They call for an end to all cultural appropriation, more than just the brownface cosplay I’ve written about previously.
Many who support perpetuating cultural appropriation also weaponize “youth-led” as a thought-terminating cliché. I encourage you to reflect on “youth-led”. Perhaps it’s your own anachronisms that need termination?
The letter, copied and pasted without editing:
Members of the National Order of the Arrow Committee,
We are __ current and former national youth officers of the Order of the Arrow, who were elected to represent the interests and voices of Scouting’s youth during our times in office. We believe our organization succeeds only when our traditions align with our values, so we wholeheartedly support ending the use of American Indian iconography and activities in our programs.
We joined the OA and ran for national office because we believed in our organization’s mission. That mission is about positive youth leadership. It creates extraordinary opportunity we each benefit from in our daily lives. We want to see that promise continue for today’s members and every young person who could one day wear a sash.
But we remain worried that mission won’t survive if the OA doesn’t do the right thing. Honoring American Indian communities requires the utmost reverence, and we know our practices cause offense to many. That doesn’t align with our admonition. We must live up to our shared value of loving one another. Just because these traditions are old does not mean they are right.
This isn’t just a moral argument; these programs hold increasingly less relevance with today’s youth. Many non-members avoid associating with the OA entirely because of these practices. If we wish to survive, we cannot prioritize traditions at the cost of blundering our aspiration of promoting positive youth leadership as an integral part of the Boy Scouts of America.
The need for change has been clear. We took an oath to faithfully fulfill our duties as national youth officers—duties developed by the committee—including recommending items of policy or other actions for the good of the Order. The National OA Committee should act on the repeated recommendations it has received from sitting national officers to end these programs.
In advance of your December meeting, we write to make clear that ending these practices has unanimous support among the OA’s top youth leaders for the past __ years. We come from __ different lodges in __ states. We are Scouting’s future advisers and parents, and we believe a successful tomorrow is realized when we live by our values.
Some may say it’s not the opportune time. We say it’s never a bad time to do the right thing. We urge you to vote to end these programs, so we can all see our true mission succeed.
In brotherhood,
[25 signatures redacted]
I am not including names of signatories. If any wish to be mentioned, I am happy to publish their names.
It is my understanding that BSA’s Chief Scout Executive, or one or more of his direct reports, is standing in the way of reform. Why don’t you support ending brownface cosplay, Roger?
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