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The Tribe of Mic-O-Say is a local honor society not affliated with the Boy Scouts of America, and one of the few fraternal Boy Scout societies in the United States that utilizes Native American heritage and has not been absorbed by the Order of the Arrow. It exists in only two councils officially: Heart of America Council (HoAC) and the Pony Express Council, with 11 other councils using all or part of the program. The Order of the Arrow (OA) is the BSA's official honor society. The OA exists alongside Mic-O-Say in the HoAC, but does not exist in the Pony Express Council. Mic-O-Say's ceremonies, customs, and traditions are based on the folklore of the American Indian. Members of Mic-O-Say are called Tribesmen.

By "blending" the spirit and pride of the American Indian with the ideals and objectives of the Boy Scouts of America, the Tribe of Mic-O-Say endeavors to prolong the Scouting adventure with a historical theme that has held the attention and captured the souls of boys and men alike for many generations. Its purpose is to reinforce the principles of the Scout Oath and Law and to foster continued participation and support in Scouting.

Results

No less than four of the ten Chief Scout Executives are or were chiefs of Mic-O-Say. The current executive, Roy Williams, attended the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the program in the Kansas City Area along with the previous Chief Scout Executive, Jere Ratcliffe. Ratcliffe was previously the local council executive in Kansas City. This local celebration drew in thousands of Scouters from across the world. It had attendance of just over half that of NOAC that year, the national OA event

The monthly council newsletter consistently fills an entire page with new Eagles.

History

Mic-O-Say was founded in 1925 at Camp Brinton near Agency, Missouri under the guidance of H. Roe Bartle, who was the scout executive of the St. Joseph Council (now called the Pony Express Council). Bartle combined his experiences in Wyoming with the St. Joseph Council's existing honor organization called Manhawka.

Bartle was inspired to create the organization after serving in 1922, as the Scout executive for the Central Wyoming Council. Bartle became extremely interested in the heritage and culture of the many Indian reservations in Wyoming. He spent many hours listening to stories about the Indian tribes and soon began to incorporate Indian values and ideals into his Scouting program.

Bartle was inducted into a local tribe of Arapaho based on a reservation served by the Scout council, and according to traditional Mic-O-Say legend, was given the name Lone Bear by the chief.

Bartle started the job in St. Joseph in January of 1925. The idea of Mic-O-Say was well formed from the moment he arrived. There already existed a camp society there called Manhawka, established by a previous executive. Bartle familiarized himself with the rudiments of it, and incorporated them into his central theme of an Indian-like society based on the principles of the Scout Oath. Bartle named the society "Micosay." A hyphenated version was used shortly after and remains popular today, though the non-hyphenated version can still be used.

Camp Geiger (Boy Scouts), which succeeded Camp Brinton in 1935, is considered the 'mother' tribe of Mic-O-Say. Bartle was "The Chief," and conducted all the early ceremonies personally, placing an eagle claw around the neck of each new member and bestowing their Tribal Name upon them. He built up the tribe during the next few years.

In the fall of 1928, Bartle became the Scout executive of the Kansas City Area Council. Mic-O-Say had increased both Scouting and summer camp attendance in leaps and bounds, and he established another Mic-O-Say program at Camp Dan Sayre near Noel, Missouri, in 1929, the first summer there. Another honor program known as the 4Ms existed there at the time. In 1930 Camp Osceola opened near Osceola, Missouri, and remains open to this day, renamed the H. Roe Bartle Scout Reservation, or commonly known as "Bartle."

The tribe flourished and expanded rapidly. The tribe in St. Joesph remained and grew. In 1947, ideas created at Camp Osceola returned to the tribe in St. Joseph to improve the program there.

The 75th anniversary celebration for the program at the Bartle Reservation included thousands of members of the Tribe, including the current and previous Chief Scout Executives.

Geiger Purpose

The Tribe of Mic-O-Say is a Scouting honor camping program, based upon the intensification of the principles and ideas of Scouting. Its purpose is to provide recognition for boys who have demonstrated and proven their devotion to Scouting by going the extra mile. Mic-O-Say is a boys' program that is guided and inspired by adults. Adults are brought into the tribe so that they may interpret and encourage the use and application of those principles in the lives of boys. Make Talk is an official publication of this organization at Geiger.

Organization

In the Heart of America Council, the Council of Chieftains, She-She-Be Council, and Tribal Council lead the tribe. Their official publications are the Customs and Traditions booklet, Cedar Smoke newsletter, and Inner Circle magazines.

In the Pony Express Council, the Council of Chieftains and the Tribal Council lead the tribe. Their official publications are the Redbook booklet and Make Talk magazine.

Membership: H. Roe Bartle

Mic-O-Say consists of two membership levels or ranks:

• Foxman
• Brave
• Warrior (Hardway and Honorary) /Honored Woman

Note: Not all members serve for any of these responsibilities. There are many members who join and die as a Brave or Warrior.

Hardway Warriors may earn certain responsibilities, known as "Working Paint" or "Paint Responsibilities" through the age of 21. This is signified by paint on the tips of their claws, with the color shown in the list following each title. This includes:

• Firebuilder (ORANGE paint); build and tend all ceremonial fires
• Tom-Tom Beater (GREEN paint); beat the drums that bring Tribesmen to ceremonies and dances
• Runner (BLUE paint); messengers and escorts of the Tribe. They make sure the candidates get where they are going.
• Keeper of the Sacred Bundle (YELLOW paint); keep the Customs and Traditions of the Tribe
• Shaman (PURPLE paint); aid the Tribal Council and prepare themselves for future responsibility. Orientation for first year campers is also their responsibility.

The tribal council is comprised of selected adults, whose selection is signified by white paint on the tips of their claws. It is their responsibility to carry out and endorse the policies of the Council of Chieftains. There are four levels in the HoAC tribe:

• Sachem (WHITE paint)
• Keeper of the Wampum (WHITE paint)
• Sagamore (WHITE paint)
• Medicine Man (WHITE paint)

The Council of Chieftains is composed of the Chiefs and Chieftains. They wear red paint on the tips of their claws, and a necklace of 24 eagle claws. It is their duty to establish the policies of the Tribe of Mic-O-Say.

• Chieftain (RED paint)
• Chief (RED paint)

Foxman is a yearlong responsibility that represents walking the correct path to possibly become a tribesmen. Foxman is not technically a rank of Mic-O-Say. While being a Foxman is not a required step, it is uncommon to become a Brave without first being a Foxman.

The rank of Brave is for all youth who are called for membership in the Tribe. Once they join, they select a tribal name. A Brave wears an eagle's claw with a small medicine pouch. The rank of Warrior has two types: Hardway Warriors and Honorary Warriors. Hardway Warriors are Braves who have completed the requirements to become Warriors. This type is signified by two eagle claws back-to-back so the tips point away from each other. In contrast, adults over the age of 18 who join the tribe do so as Honorary Warriors and Honored Women. This is signified by two eagle claws that point downward so the tips face each other (the shape resembles a crescent moon).

Membership: Geiger

Almost the same as Bartle membership, but there are a few differences:

• The following responsibilities are not part of the Geiger tribe: Shaman, Keeper of the Wampum, and Sagamore
• Foxmen are only at that stage for 24 hours
• New members are given a tribal name instead of choosing one
• Adults inducted into the tribe above the age of 18 are all Honorary Warriors. While both men and women can be inducted into the tribe, they are all under the title Honorary Warriors.

Legacy

Members of Mic-O-Say have spread nationally and internationally. The current Chief Scout Executive has been inducted into the program. . Two of the founders of Cerner, an international health care IT company and the current CEO of J.E. Dunn Construction Group, one of the nations largest construction companies, are members of the program.

Controversies

There has been some amount of controversy over the Tribe of Mic-O-Say's initiation procedures and its use of secrecy. The Boy Scouts of America has adopted policies known as "Youth Protection" since the 1980s which prevent secret societies from forming within the BSA.

Some have raised issues about whether the Tribe of Mic-O-Say hazes new members and whether it is a secret society. Because of the national policy forbidding secret societies, Mic-O-Say has adopted policies that permit anyone to sit in on ceremonies, and although the Tribal Council discourages non-tribesmen from attending, Mic-O-Say does not stop concerned parents from doing so.

Trivia

The Kansas City Chiefs are named after the nickname, "The Chief", of H. Roe Bartle, which is his nickname because of his position in the tribe.

See also

• Scouting in Kansas
• Scouting in Missouri

References

• Tribesmen Arise! by Cotton Smith ISBN 0-9754963-0-1 (History book of HOAC Mic-O-Say)
• Strengthened by an Eagle's Claw ISBN 0-9754963-2-8 (DVD history of HOAC Mic-O-Say)

1. http://hoac-bsa.org/MOS_Chieftains.cfm
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/Chief_Scout_Executive
3. http://hoac-bsa.org/Tribal_Feast_2004.cfm
4. http://hoac-bsa.org/ae_links/Adv_in_Scouts_2007_04_05.pdf
5. http://hoac-bsa.org/Williams_Roy.cfm
6. http://en.wikipedia.org/Chief_Scout_Executive
7. http://hoac-bsa.org/Chieftain_IlligC.cfm
8. http://hoac-bsa.org/Chieftain_DunnT.cfm

External links

• Pony Express Council Mic-O-Say site
• Heart of America Council Mic-O-Say site
• HOAC Mic-O-Say Dancers
• Unofficial Tribe of Mic-O-Say Web Site
• "Alternate Mic-O-Say programs Other Current Scouting Honor Societies based on the Mic-O-Say program

• Boy Scouts of America-related associations