Tribe of Gimogash
The Tribe of Gimogash is the oldest known honor program, having been established in 1914, and predates even the Order of the Arrow. Unlike most honor programs of the time, however, it was not a summer camp program, but rather was a year-round system, and linked to the council rather than the camp. The Tribe of Gimogash was formed in Kansas City, Missouri, by J. St. Clair Mendenhall, who just a few months later moved to Toledo, Ohio, to become its Council Executive. He brought the idea with him, and so it was that many of the known Tribes of Gimogash were from Ohio.
The Newark Council (later the Licking County Council) established its Tribe of Gimogash in late 1920 or early 1921, sometime between the summer camp seasons of those years. The earliest newspaper article found so far is from June 27, 1921, and describes the election of new officers, implying that the group was formed long enough before that time to have had old officers. It seems likely then that the first members were inducted in the summer or fall of 1920. The officers elected were the Chief, Medicine Man, Keeper of the Wampum, and Keeper of the Totem (the latter two presumably acting as treasurer and secretary, respectively).
The exact requirements for becoming a member of the Tribe of Gimogash may have varied from council to council. In Newark Council it was reserved for those who were at least 15 years old, were First Class Scouts — a rank that was far less common in the early days of Scouting — and who had earned at least five merit badges. In order to remain a member in some tribes, scouts had to continue to earn advancement, as much as a merit badge every month.
It is not currently known when the Tribe of Gimogash vanished from Newark, but no evidence has been found that it was still active when the Kaniengehaga Lodge of the Order of the Arrow was formed in 1949, or that any of its members were inducted into the lodge. However, there can be no doubt that both organizations valued the same characteristics in their members.
A considerably longer account of the Tribe of Gimogash, including many more details about the Toledo tribe, can be found on the U.S. Scouting Service Project website.
