Chief Seattle Council (originally called Seattle Area Council) is the local council governing the scouting activities of the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded ...

in a large part of the

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

and

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

area, including almost all of the

Olympic Peninsula The Olympic Peninsula is a large arm of land in western Washington that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle, and contains Olympic National Park. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and th ...

History

In 1915 the Seattle Council was formed, changing its name to Seattle Area in 1924, and to Chief Seattle in 1954. In 1917 the Bremerton and Port Angeles councils were formed, both ceased operation in 1919 and the Seattle Council took over were they had served.In 1956 the Olympic Area Council was formed, merging into Chief Seattle in 1974.

Organization

The council is divided into districts: *Alpine District: Its territory includes Fall City,

Issaquah Issaquah ( ) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 40,051 at the 2020 census. Located in a valley and bisected by Interstate 90, the city is bordered by the Sammamish Plateau to the north and the " Issaquah Al ...

, North Bend,

Sammamish Sammamish ( ) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 67,455 at the 2020 census. Located on a plateau, the city is bordered by Lake Sammamish to the west and the Snoqualmie Valley to the east. Sammamish is a resid ...

, Snoqualmie, portions of Newcastle, and the Renton Highlands. *Aurora District: Its territory includes Lake Forest Park, North Seattle,

Shoreline A shore or a shoreline is the fringe of land at the edge of a large body of water, such as an ocean, sea, or lake. In physical oceanography, a shore is the wider fringe that is geologically modified by the action of the body of water past a ...

. *Duwamish District: Beacon Hill, Burien, Capitol Hill, Central District, Columbia City, Des Moines, Hillman City, Madrona, Montlake, Normandy Park, Rainier Beach, Rainier Valley, SeaTac, Seattle, South Seattle, Tukwila, Vashon Island, West Seattle, White Center. *Kitsap District:

Bainbridge Island Bainbridge Island is a city and island in Kitsap County, Washington. It is located in Puget Sound. The population was 23,025 at the 2010 census and an estimated 25,298 in 2019, making Bainbridge Island the second largest city in Kitsap County. ...

, Seabeck, Crosby,

Bremerton Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremer ...

, Silverdale,

Port Orchard Port Orchard, part of Washington state's Puget Sound, is the strait that separates Bainbridge Island on the east from the Kitsap Peninsula on the west. It extends from Liberty Bay and Agate Pass in the north to Sinclair Inlet and Rich Passage ...

, Belfair, Bangor, Erlands Point-Kitsap Lake, Indianola, Kingston, Manchester, Navy Yard City, Olalla, Parkwood, Poulsbo, Suquamish, Tracyton. *Lake Shores:

Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. It may refer to: Placenames Australia * Bellevue, Western Australia * Bellevue Hill, New South Wales * Bellevue, Queensland * Bellevue, Glebe, an historic house in Sydney, New South Wales Canada ...

, Washington, Juanita, Kirkland, and

Mercer Island Mercer Island is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located on an island of the same name in the southern portion of Lake Washington. Mercer Island is in the Seattle metropolitan area, with Seattle to its west and Bellevue to it ...

. *Mt. Olympus:

Clallam Klallam (also Clallam, although the spelling with "K" is preferred in all four modern Klallam communities) refers to four related indigenous Native American/First Nations communities from the Pacific Northwest of North America. The Klallam cult ...

and

Jefferson Jefferson may refer to: Names * Jefferson (surname) * Jefferson (given name) People * Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States * Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian foo ...

*Mt. Tahoma: Auburn, Black Diamond, Covington,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, Newcastle, Maple Valley, Pacific, Renton, Skyway. *Northern Trails:

Bothell Bothell () is a city in King and Snohomish counties in the U.S. state of Washington. It is part of the Seattle metropolitan area, situated near the northeast end of Lake Washington. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 48,161 resident ...

, Carnation, Duvall, Kenmore, Redmond,

Woodinville Woodinville is a city in King County, Washington, United States. It is a part of the Seattle metropolitan area. There is also a much larger population with Woodinville mailing addresses in adjacent unincorporated areas of King ( Cottage Lake) and ...

Camps

Camp Edward

Camp Edward, previously known as Camp Brinkley, is a camp in Snohomish, Washington. It was founded in 1967 and originally held a resident summer camp program for

Boy Scouts Boy Scouts may refer to: * Boy Scout, a participant in the Boy Scout Movement. * Scouting, also known as the Boy Scout Movement. * An organisation in the Scouting Movement, although many of these organizations also have female members. There are ...

, but has since transitioned to a summer camp program for

Cub Scouts Cub Scouts, Cubs or Wolf Cubs are programs associated with Scouting for young children usually between 7 and 12, depending on the organization to which they belong. A participant in the program is called a Cub. A group of Cubs is called a 'P ...

Camp Pigott

Camp Pigott, (named after former

Paccar Paccar Inc is an American ''Fortune'' 500 company and counts among the largest manufacturers of medium- and heavy-duty trucks in the world, and has substantial manufacturing in light and medium vehicles through its various subsidiaries. It was ...

CEO and philanthropist Charles M. Pigott), has run a resident summer camp program since its re-opening in 2003. It had formerly been named Camp Omache, and had been closed since 1991. Camp Pigott sits on Lake Hughes in Snohomish, Washington. It features a 35' high-ropes course known as the C.O.P.E. course. The course is a non-linear design so Scouts can choose a variety of challenges and pathways. The camp also includes a 42' covered climbing tower with three climbing surfaces (including a real rock surface and overhang) and one, two-lane rappelling surface. Camp Pigott also has a mountain biking course and a blacksmith shop. The camp has a dining hall that is equipped with a full size industrial kitchen, and indoor/outdoor fireplace for the main hall. Camp Pigott is home of the Order of the Arrow T'Kope Kwiskwis Lodge's ceremonial longhouse.

Camp Sheppard

Camp Sheppard is a camp outside of Enumclaw, Washington. Sheppard does not run a resident Scout camping program, but does run several other Scout programs including a Winter Camp program for Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. Since 2011, Sheppard has been the location for the Council's

National Youth Leadership Training National Youth Leadership Training, often called NYLT, is the current youth leadership development training offered by the Boy Scouts of America. The program is conducted at the council level over six days for Scouts, Venturers, and Sea Scouts. ...

, usually holding four sessions every year in the summer. Until 2009, Camp Sheppard was a High Adventure base, where it offered programs in mountaineering, mountain biking, and backpacking. Until 2014, it hosted the "Mom & Me/Dad & Me" Cub Scout camping programs, after which they were moved to Camp Edward.

Camp Parsons

Founded in 1919, Camp Parsons is the oldest continuous running Boy Scout camp west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

and one of the oldest continually running Boy Scout camps in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

on its original location. It sits on , part of the

Hood Canal Hood Canal is a fjord forming the western lobe, and one of the four main basins,Brinnon, Washington Brinnon is a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson County, Washington, United States. The population was 797 at the 2010 census. The community is named for Ewell P. Brinnon, who in 1860 took a donation land claim at the mouth of the Duckab ...

, and just south of Quilcene, Washington. The site of the camp was chosen by Professor Edmund Meany, Major Edward Ingraham and members of the Seattle Area Council. It was purchased from John Strom in May 1919 and named after the first council president, Reginald H. Parsons. Booth Hall (the current Silver Marmot Grill) was constructed in May and June 1919 and continues to be used today. On July 7, 1919, 100 Scouts arrived at Camp Parsons for its first season that ran 6 weeks and has not stopped since. A separate camp for Cub Scouts was developed on the property in 1937 and named Camp Meany in honor of the late Professor Edmund Meany, first Scout commissioner for Seattle. This camp was merged into Camp Parsons in 1941 and that camp's dining hall served as the dining hall for Camp Parsons until the summer 2014 after which it was razed and a new dining hall was constructed and dedicated in June 2015. Thousands of Scouts from the Pacific Northwest and throughout the United States and Canada attend camp each summer. Camp Parsons is the only Boy Scout Camp that uses a salt water beach for all aquatic activities. Camp Parsons also has hiking treks for Scouts to explore the Olympic Mountains and Kayak treks to explore the Hood Canal.

Order of the Arrow

Chief Seattle Council's local lodge in the

Order of the Arrow The Order of the Arrow (OA) is the honor society of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), composed of Scouts and Scouters who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives as elected by their peers. The society was created by E. Urner Go ...

is T'kope Kwiskwis, founded in 1954. The name translates to ' he Order ofthe Silver Marmot' and refers to the council's original honor society that originated at Camp Parsons, the Silver Marmot. Unlike other lodges around the United States, which wear the

Plains Indian Plains Indians or Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies are the Native American tribes and First Nation band governments who have historically lived on the Interior Plains (the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies) of ...

style of regalia for their ceremonies, T'Kope, along with neighboring lodges wears button blankets. In April 2013, T'Kope Kwiskwis completed the reconstruction of a ceremonial

longhouse A longhouse or long house is a type of long, proportionately narrow, single-room building for communal dwelling. It has been built in various parts of the world including Asia, Europe, and North America. Many were built from timber and often rep ...

at Camp Pigott that is used for Order of the Arrow ceremonies. The T'Kope Kwiskwis lodge won the 2012 OA National Service Award.

References

External links

* {{Scouting Local councils of the Boy Scouts of America Western Region (Boy Scouts of America) Youth organizations based in Washington (state)