An Invitation

From the CVC for American Indian Activities

"We pick up the lore and the tradition of the American Indian and glorify them today. The Indian was a lover of open air and his culture is ours to preserve. When the final history of our Order is written, it is to be hoped that one of its greatest achievements will be the preservation of the Scout movement as an outdoor experience."
--Dr. E. Urner Goodman, Founder

At the 1998 National Conference, the American Indian Activities Committee offered over 140 training sessions. Our low estimate is that participants attended 8000 educational training hours. Moreover, more than 800 Arrowmen competed in at least one of the American Indian Competitions.

This year, we are dedicated to surpassing these milestones at the 2000 National Conference, and we are committed to offering you an even greater program. With this, I invite you to participate in the many activities that we will be offering at the National Conference this summer. Let me give you an overview of what we have in store for you:

On the opening night of NOAC, we will be offering a Busk. Busk is a Seminole word that refers to a gathering of peoples, and that's exactly what our Busk will be-a gathering of NOAC participants to enjoy a show put on by the American Indian Activities staff just for you. During the Busk, we will be promoting and explaining the rest of the NOAC American Indian Activities program.

As always, we will be offering several different competitions. These competitions include Group Dance, Team Singing, the Craft Fair, Straight Dance, Old Style Dance, Traditional Dance, Grass Dance, and Fancy Dance. The rules for these competitions can be found at the links at the end of this letter.

We are implementing plans to provide over 140 training sessions and 20 workshops just for you! Some of these workshops will even take place during the opening day of NOAC so you can get a jump-start on American Indian Activities at the Conference!

We have also planned for a new and improved, larger and longer Founder's Day Powwow this year. For those who just wish to watch the powwow, the Craft Fair will be set up next to it, and just a short distance away will also be an American Indian Training Post where you can find pretty much anything and everything that you may want to buy-from videos to books to craft materials to ready made items!

Tuesday night will feature the American Indian Heritage Show. This year's show promises to be an exciting and education event. It will feature the top dancers and singers in the Order of the Arrow, and it will without a doubt, be one of the highlights of your NOAC experience!

With an extra day added on to NOAC this year, we will without a doubt be able to offer the largest and most dynamic American Indian Activities program in the history of our Order, and you have the opportunity to participate in this great program. So, have a safe trip to NOAC, and I look forward to seeing you at one of our activities!

Yours in Cheerful Service,

Devlin Cooper
CVC for American Indian Activities
2000 National Order of the Arrow Conference

[American Indian Activities Committee]

[Letter from the CVC] [Individual Dance Competition Rules] [Group Dance Competition Rules] [Group Dance Competition Judging Crieria] [Team Singing Competition Rules] [Craft Fair Guidelines] [Outfit Competition Criteria]

Revised 5/2/00.