Maskek Woakus
(Chapter 1)
The lodge is comprised of 7 local chapters, each covering a designated service area within the boundaries of the Indian Waters Council. An Arrowman’s chapter is determined based on the district (of the council) in which their unit is chartered, and much of the lodge program and administration are organized around chapter membership (e.g., competitions at the Fellowships, Unit Election Team visits). When a chapter is initially established, the members choose a fitting name, which is both distinctive and provides some level of identity for the chapter members.
Service Area
The Maskek Woakus chapter includes the Capital Rivers and Wateree Districts of the Indian Waters council, covering Richland County School District Two, Fairfield and Kershaw counties. The area includes lakes, rivers, and swamps in the lower portions of the Broad River Basin (on its way through the state capital) and the Catawba River Basin, including the Wateree River and Lake Wateree[1].
Chapter Name Etymology
The Maskek Woakus name combines the Lenni Lenape words for “swamp” and “fox.”[2][3] Those familiar with American Revolutionary War history will recognize “Swamp Fox” as the nom de guerre of Francis Marion, a Revolutionary War brigadier general (and latter-day SC Senator), born in Winyah, South Carolina.[4] Marion played a pivotal role in the American Revolution, after the British succeeded in taking Charleston in May of 1780. With a band of militia, Marion harassed the English and Loyalists forces across the rivers and through the swamps of South Carolina, preventing the British from capitalizing on their occupation of Charleston. Soon the British sent Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton and his Dragoons to capture or kill Marion, but he frustrated Tarleton’s efforts, causing him to curse, “As for this damned old fox, the Devil himself could not catch him.” Thereafter, locals began hailing Marion as the Swamp Fox, and his legend was born.[5]
1SC Watershed Atlas, SC Department of Health and Environment Control, 2023, https://gis.dhec.sc.gov/watersheds/.
2“Search Results of ‘Maskek’ Lenape to English.” The Lenape Talking Dictionary, Lenape Language Preservation Project, 2023, https://talk-lenape.org/results?query=maskek&lang=lenape.
3Chamberlain, Alexander F. “Significations of Certain Algonquian Animal-Names.” JSTOR.org, American Anthropologist , Oct. – Dec., 1901, New Series, Vol. 3, No. 4 (Oct. – Dec., 1901), p. 672, https://www.jstor.org/stable/659087.
4Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Francis Marion”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Feb. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Francis-Marion. Accessed 14 February 2023.
5Crawford, Amy. “The Swamp Fox.” Smithsonian Magazine, Smithsonian Institution, 30 June 2007, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-swamp-fox-157330429/.
6The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Print Collection, The New York Public Library. “Scenes in his life” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/5e66b3e8-e688-d471-e040-e00a180654d7.
Contact Leadership
Each chapter has an elected Chapter Chief, Vice Chief, and Secretary, with guidance provided by their selected adviser. Chapter members should contact their Chapter Chief with any questions or to schedule a unit election visit.
Chapter Chief
Chapter Vice Chief
Chapter Secretary
Chapter Adviser
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Muscogee Lodge #116 proudly serves the Indian Waters Council, BSA, across