Ku-ni-eh was founded in Cincinnati, OH. by Arthur Roberts, Scout Executive in 1923. Roberts was a charismatic and inspirational leader, Scout Executive in Cincinnati for twenty nine years.  Roberts had a difficult childhood, running away from home as a youth and making his way in the world. It was a popular theme in that era of the self made man, pulling  himself up  by  his boot straps,  Roberts personified that theme. His lack of formal education didn’t handicap him,  he authored books on youth and interacted with influential people of Cincinnati. Like other beloved pioneer Scout Executives he was affectionately known as The Chief. Thanks David Madison for the research on Roberts. The name Ku-ni-eh is taken from the Native American Maidu Tribe of California. Ku-ni-eh means “Order of Manhood”. The symbol was the We-Hin-Ah-Pay”, the rising sun. Roberts developed a printed manual as early as 1923. A professionally printed Ceremonial Book was published in 1926. Much of this history is lost and discovery is so much fun. I learned that Ku-ni-eh was brought to Milwaukee in the 1930’s by the Chairman of the Council Executive Board, Edgar Friedlander, Jr. The Cincinnati Camp was named for his father. Ku-ni-eh was confirmed in Mahoning Valley, OH. when a scout shirt from Youngstown was found with a Ku-ni-eh badge on it. Years ago, I developed a list of 16 councils that used Ku-ni-eh. Dave Eby with the USSP web-site now has now identified 22 places where Ku-Ni-Eh was used.   Ohio Cincinati Sandusky Youngstown Kentucky Lexington Paducah Pikeville Louisville Newport Texas Texarkana San Angelo Brownwood Waco Wichita Falls South Carolina Greenville Palmetto Spartanburg North Carolina Wilmington Goldsboro Wisconson Janesville Milwauikee Waukesha AS KNOWN 2/2021 cities are shown because some councils changed. In 1924 at  the  4th  Bi Annual Training Meeting,  there was discussion about camp fraternities.  They  were  nearly  disapproved  and  scouting   professionals  were instructed to keep groups local. Even though the WWW met in 1921 with plans for growth. Ku-ni-eh had quality printed material so early that they had an advantage over  other  groups.  It doesn’t  appear that  Ku-in-eh   had a plan  for  a national organization.  Others were welcome to Ku-ni-eh printed material and there were no charter fees.  A council  in South  Carolina  or  Texas  could  send to Cincinnati for booklets to start a Ku-ni-eh tribe. If they modified something there was no governing body to approve or disapprove and most important to some Scouting professionals, there were no National dues, or charter fees. To the left - 1923 Brochure  To the right - 1926 Brochure The Ku-ni-eh organization and ceremonial is exceptional. There is no explanation where Roberts got the inspiration for such a group or ceremony. In David Madison’s book, The Tribe of Ku-ni-eh, a Native American, Charles Eastman is mentioned. Eastman is a Native American and authored a book Indian Scout Talks. It’s possible that Roberts got some of the ideas for Ku-ni-eh from this book. Ku-ni-eh Candidates were chosen by camp staff members. This was a common way of selecting method. In many groups the candidate had to meet certain requirements before becoming eligible for higher honors. In Nani-Ba-Zhu the candidate had to have qualified as a Black Diamond. In White Swastica (Portsmouth) the candidate had to be a Motawk. In many WWW lodges the candidate had to be a Honor Camper, having passed achievement test, before being eligible for election into the lodge. At the time of selection all Ku-ni-eh members present had to unanimously approve the candidate, again that is different from modern ways, but common for the early years.    This is what a 1920's Camp booklet says about Ku-ni-ch        Cincinnati Ku-ni-eh Insignia   Minor varieties of Ku-ni-eh badges on full 2 1/4” square khaki square cloth. All have 11 sun rays. These exist on tan to khaki cloth.   The two to the left appear to be punched, not cut out of background cloth. Probably not from Cincinnati.   Ku-ni-eh badges were available from Lion Brothers embroidery in lots of 25 as early as 1926. Smaller quantities could be bought from the Cincinnati Scout office. The Cincinnati tribe had a large membership and existed for many years. Collectors will find many Ku-ni-eh patches cut to round and often laundered. I do not use worn badges to document varieties. In 1951 Scout Executive Art Roberts retired after an exemplarily professional career. The new Executive, Frank Braden had a strong OA background, Lodge 50 Alabama and Lodge 70, North Carolina. The new Cincinnati OA lodge chose Ku-ni-eh as their name and the We-Hin-Ah-Pay as their totem. When Cincinnati became OA, the rising son was adopted as their totem. This totem appears on almost all of their modern badges. The issue to the left is in the Greg Guy collection. It’s believes to be a dance team issue from an Indian dance Explorer Post in Indiana.   Paul Myers Goshen, Indiana gimogash@comcast.net