Woodcraft League of America, originally called the Woodcraft Indians and League of Woodcraft Indians, is a youth program, established by

Ernest Thompson Seton Ernest Thompson Seton (born Ernest Evan Thompson August 14, 1860 – October 23, 1946) was an English-born Canadian-American author, wildlife artist, founder of the Woodcraft Indians in 1902 (renamed Woodcraft League of America), and one of ...

in 1901. Despite the name, the program was created for non-

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

children. At first the group was for boys only, but later it would also include girls. Seton instructed the children in his town in Connecticut in outdoor "

Woodcraft The term woodcraft — or woodlore — denotes bushcraft skills and experience in matters relating to living and thriving in the woods—such as hunting, fishing, and camping—whether on a short- or long-term basis. Traditionally, woodcraft per ...

" – knowledge and skills of life in the woods – and based much of the group's terminology and structure on the misconceptions about Native Americans that were common in that era. The program spread internationally to become the Woodcraft Movement and many of these programs still exist. Seton's Woodcraft scheme also had a strong influence on later youth programs and organizations, particularly, the

Scout Movement Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

History

The first Woodcraft "Tribe" was established at

Cos Cob, Connecticut Cos Cob is a neighborhood and census-designated place in the town of Greenwich, Connecticut. It is located on the Connecticut shoreline in southern Fairfield County. It had a population of 6,770 at the 2010 census. Cos Cob is located on the west ...

United States of America 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 territo ...

, in 1901. Seton's property had been vandalized by a group of boys from the local school. After having to repaint his gate a number of times, he went to the school, and invited the boys to the property for a weekend, rather than prosecuting them. The unique feature of his program was that the boys elected their own leaders: a "Chief", a "Second Chief", a "Keeper of the Tally" and a "Keeper of the

Wampum Wampum is a traditional shell bead of the Eastern Woodlands tribes of Native Americans. It includes white shell beads hand-fashioned from the North Atlantic channeled whelk shell and white and purple beads made from the quahog or Western Nort ...

". Seton wrote a series of seven articles for ''

Ladies' Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States. In 18 ...

'' from May to November 1902 under the heading "Seton's Boys" that were later published as the '' Birch Bark Roll''. At the urging of his friend

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

, Seton published '' Two Little Savages'' (1903) as a novel, rather than a dictionary of Woodcraft. Interest in the Woodcraft Indians spread to the United Kingdom and Seton traveled there in 1906 to promote his books and Woodcraft outdoor organization. Seton met

Robert Baden-Powell Lieutenant-General Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, ( ; (Commonly pronounced by others as ) 22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941) was a British Army officer, writer, founder and first Chief Scout of the worl ...

, and gave him a copy of the ''Birch Bark Roll''. Although one of many influences, Seton's book had a strong influence on Baden-Powell's book, ''

Scouting for Boys ''Scouting for Boys: A handbook for instruction in good citizenship'' is a book on Boy Scout training, published in various editions since 1908. Early editions were written and illustrated by Robert Baden-Powell with later editions being extensi ...

''. In 1910, the Woodcraft Indians were merged into the fledgling

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 i ...

(BSA) by Seton and he wrote the BSA's first handbook, ''Boy Scouts of America: Official Handbook, A Handbook of Woodcraft, Scouting, and Life-craft'' and became the Chief Scout of the BSA for five years. After a fallout with James E. West, Seton left the BSA in 1915 and re-established the Woodcraft Indians separately. He claimed to have never really merged his organization into the BSA. The Woodcraft League of America was a co-educational program open to children between ages "4 and 94". Seton established a program he called "Brownies" in 1921 for girls and boys ages 6–11, based on his earlier book, ''Woodland Tales.'' The organization consisted of the Big Lodge for Boys (12–18 years of age), the Big Lodge for Girls (12–18 years of age), as well as the Woodcraft Club and Sun Lodge for Male and Female Adults. The Red Lodge or Medicine Lodge also existed for a time, it was for men over the age of 21 interested in a more spiritual approach to Woodcraft. There were many local Woodcraft groups in the United States in the early part of the 20th century. Camps following the Woodcraft Program in the United States and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

were also founded by friends and students of Seton. The Woodcraft League influenced the formation of

Lone Scouts Lone Scouts are members of the Scout movement who are in isolated areas or otherwise do not participate in a regular Scouting unit or organization. A Lone Scout must meet the membership requirements of the Scouting organization to which they bel ...

inspired in 1912 by

John Hargrave John Gordon Hargrave (6 June 1894 – 21 November 1982), (woodcraft name 'White Fox'), was a prominent youth leader in Britain during the 1920s and 1930s, Head Man of the Kibbo Kift, described in his obituary as an 'author, cartoonist, inve ...

. In the United Kingdom, the Woodcraft League influenced the

Order of Woodcraft Chivalry The Order of Woodcraft Chivalry is a scouting-like movement operating in the United Kingdom, which was founded in 1916 by Ernest Westlake. It was inspired by Ernest Thompson Seton's Woodcraft Indians, and Seton was its honorary Grand Chieftain. Wh ...

formed in 1916, the Kindred of the

Kibbo Kift The Kindred of the Kibbo Kift was a camping, hiking and handicraft group with ambitions to bring world peace. It was the first of three movements in England associated with the charismatic artist and writer John Hargrave (1894–1982). The Kindred ...

formed in 1920 and

Woodcraft Folk Woodcraft Folk is a UK-based educational Youth organisations in the United Kingdom, movement for children and young people. Founded in 1925 and grown by volunteers, it has been a registered charity since 1965 Registered Charity since 2013. and a ...

formed in 1925 and Camp Fire Girls (UK).

References

External links

''The BSA's 'forgotten' founding father''
(October 1998) *The Woodcraft League in Czechoslovakia (split in 1992)
Liga lesní moudrosti – The Woodcraft League in Czech Republic

Liga lesnej múdrosti – The Woodcraft League of SlovakiaWoodcraft RangersAgrupacion de Escultismo Woodcraft de Chile (Woodcraft Chile)Liga Woodcraft InteramericanaSeton Legacy Project, Academy for the Love of Learning
{{Scouting in the United States Associations related to the Boy Scouts of America Scouting in the United States Youth organizations based in Canada

History

See also

References

External links