This year our section is confronted by a change we haven’t had to face in over thirty years: two of our lodges are merging. Lo La’Qam Geela Lodge and Tsisqan Lodge are merging in response to Oregon Trail Council and Crater Lake Council merging. The councils have already merged to form Pacific Crest Council, and the two lodges have one year to follow suit. With the novelty of this opportunity, many questions come to mind. What will the new name be? Will the lodge events all change? How will conclave change? What does this mean for the future of the section?
But with all of this turbulence, let us recall the words of Uncas in the Ordeal ceremony: “. . . we must stand by one another. Let us both urge on our kindred firm devotion to our brethren and our cause. Ourselves forgetting, let us catch the higher vision. Let us find the greater beauty in the life of cheerful service”. One benefit of an organization with shared goals is that – when changes arise – we can rest assured in our principals. Regardless of title or totem, the new lodge will catch the higher vision; regardless of change, the new lodge will still exemplify brotherhood, cheerfulness, and service. So let us forget ourselves – let us forget our pasts – and instead urge one another towards our shared purpose and intent.
Even so, the process of creating a new lodge is one that our entire section will have to go through, and knowing what it entails will help all of us to look to the future. The lodge merger process has already begun for Lo La’Qam Geela and Tsisqan: both lodges have elected their lodge leadership, and in turn, their merger committees. The merger process will be helmed by a committee of youth from both lodges who, through the course of the year, will decide the new name, brand, calendar, and standing rules of the new lodge. This committee consists mostly of the lodge chiefs and lodge vice chiefs of the two lodges.
The first meeting of this merger committee will be in January. The goal of this meeting is to decide the new lodge’s name and totem, create a tentative calendar, and develop communication for the process. Members of the two lodges are encouraged to contribute to this process by filling out the Lodge Merger Survey they should have received by email. In this survey, you will be asked for your input on things such as the new lodge name and brand, policies, procedures, and infrastructure. During the January merger meeting, the merger committee will review this input to make more informed decisions for the new lodge.
From that initial merger meeting until September, there will be multiple other meetings, each workshopping one branch of the new lodge. Throughout the year, there will be meetings to decide the various processes of the new lodge, including administrative, induction, programming, and more. All of the new lodge standing rules should be completed at some point before September.
The first official event of the new lodge will be held in September. This event will include the inaugural lodge elections, and afterwards the first Lodge Executive Committee meeting, in which the standing rules will be voted on. This lodge election will look very similar to the election process of the section: each chapter will have ten votes – eighty votes total – and whichever candidate receives the most votes will win the election.
Because this election will be happening in September, there will be little to no effect on our Section G16 Conclave. At conclave, there will still be three lodges, so nothing about the section officer election, program, or naming will change. Next year’s conclave will be hosted by the new lodge, and part of this planning will likely happen during the merger process.
After the new lodge has elected its leadership, the process of saying goodbye to Lo La’Qam Geela and Tsisqan will begin. Both lodges will remain lodges until Dec. 31, 2025 when their lodge charters expire. In October, both lodges will be holding events to celebrate the past. These events will not just be for mourning: they will be a celebration of life, a recognition of achievement and a promise to continue onwards.
When each member goes through the induction, they are reminded by Allowat Sakima: “membership in the Order of the Arrow is given, not only for what you have done, but for what you are expected to do in the future” . Lo La’Qam Geela and Tsisqan have accomplished so much in their pasts. And yet, as our section goes forward together through this merge, let us remember what we are expected to do in the future.