The lodge's totem is the turtle, reflecting both the name of the animal (unami) in the Delaware language, but also its association with its peoples.

[1] The Order of the Arrow was founded in 1915 at a Scout summer camp on Treasure Island, on the Delaware River near Philadelphia.

The two men principally responsible for its creation were camp director E. Urner Goodman and his assistant Carroll A.

[2] Goodman and Edson were looking for ways to improve the camp and to keep the older boys coming back.

They looked at several sources in creating their new 'camp fraternity',[3][4] including: The Order earned official recognition as a BSA program experiment in 1922, along with several other honor societies.