Not many lodges make it 50 years, let alone 75. Based in eastern South Dakota, northwest Iowa, and southwest Minnesota, Tetonwana Lodge is 76 years old. Tetonwana Lodge was founded in 1937 by John Bibby, from Brookings, South Dakota, who had been inducted into the Order of the Arrow while on a canoeing expedition at the Region Ten Canoe Base (now known as the Charles L. Sommers Canoe Base). John wished to bring the Order back with him to eastern South Dakota. Since then, Tetonwana Lodge has seen its share of success, fame and politics.
How success within the Order is measured is subjective. Some consider continuous membership gain to be a sign of success. If membership growth is the only measure, then Tetonwana Lodge may not be considered all that successful as the lodge maintains a humble size of about 350 members in recent years. At one time, however, the lodge had nearly 600 members on its books.
Success and fame in the Order is sometimes measured by the number of regional and national officers your lodge has been home to. Tetonwana Lodge has been home to one region chief, Roger Hoyme, the 1978-1980 North Central Region chief, and one national chief, Jeff Hayward, the 2004 national chief. In 1978, the Sioux Council, which at the time covered southeast South Dakota, absorbed Pheasant Council, which covered northeast South Dakota. Along with the councils, the Order of the Arrow lodges also changed. Pheasant Council's Iyatonka Lodge was absorbed by Sioux Council's lodge, Tetonwana Lodge. Iyatonka Lodge was the home lodge to Clyde Mayer, the current National OA Director, before it was absorbed by Tetonwana Lodge.
Traditions are often lost and feelings are often hurt when lodges merge or are absorbed, and the Iyatonka/Tetonwana absorption was no exception. As a result of the merger, Pheasant Council's resident camp, Camp Iyataka near Wilmot, South Dakota, was slowly shut down. The ceremonial procedures of Iyatonka Lodge were no longer with the location they had been designed for, and the traditions found in Iyatonka Lodge ceremonies were lost. Tetonwana Lodge, at that point, held its annual spring conclave at Lewis and Clark Scout Camp near Tabor, South Dakota, the Sioux Council's residents camp and its annual fall conclave at one of two council camps, Camp Shetek near Currie, Minnesota and Newton Hills near Canton, South Dakota. As a result of the merger, Camp Iyataka was inserted into a three camp rotation with Newton Hills and Camp Shetek, reducing its ceremonial usage to lodge ceremonies to once every three years and to small callouts by troops or at district functions.
The merger was a sudden move and many individuals refused to take part in Order of the Arrow functions that fell outside the former territory of Iyatonka Lodge. It took many years for those from Iyatonka Lodge to become active within Tetonwana Lodge. Traditions have formed since then, even in the midst of mixed emotions. Among the new traditions to emerge from the newly combined lodge was the campership program started in 1991.
Tetonwana Lodge launched its campership program by designing a council shoulder patch and selling it for $10 per patch. To help pay for the council patch, a walking stick, also known as the spirit stick, is auctioned off at the lodge's annual Winter Banquet. All proceeds go directly towards paying for the creation of the patches and the winners of the "Spirit Stick" are allowed to add one item onto the Spirit Stick. After a certain number of years, a new Spirit Stick is created and the old one is placed into the Sioux Council's museum, the "Scouter's Attic." Not all traditions are based in dance teams, ceremonies, or conclave activities. Some traditions find roots in a legacy of cheerful service. This is especially true in lodges that cover large amounts of land but contain few members. Most would consider this cheerful service a true success.
In its 76 years of existence, Tetonwana Lodge has followed the constantly changing course of society. From being the home of a national chief to dealing with a territorial split, Tetonwana has seen its share of fame, drama, politics, and all around its fair share of the Brotherhood we know as the Order of the Arrow.