Robert Wolfe Columbus Dispatch Owner-Publisher took his family vacations in the American West. Inspired by those adventures, in 1927 he purchased 20 acres of land in Pickerington, Ohio. And created what became a 64 acre wooded retreat which was named WIGWAM.

It was furnished with Native American decor.

Tableware and carpeting displayed the theme. The Wigwam dishes and glasses carried the 1930s picture of Two Gun White Calf. One of three Native American Indians who posed for the likeness of the Indian on the Buffalo Nickel. A portrait that was taken by Walter Nice, a photographer for the Columbus Dispatch newspaper in 1909.
Mr. Wolfe engaged a Dispatch cartoonist to paint stagecoaches, trains, airplanes, covered wagons, teepees, cowboy cabins and other scenes from the American West. The Native American decor continued outside with an authentic totem pole.

In 1910 Columbus city officials hired Edgar S. Martin to advise them on how to begin a Parks and Recreation Program. Martin’s efforts met stiff resistance from conservative taxpayers but the idea prevailed. And Martin convinced Columbus City Council to appropriate $15,000 for an initial investment. State bonds were then issued for purchase of playground and recreation equipment.

Edgar Martin was an avid supporter of the emerging Boy Scout movement. 
He established the first Boy Scout organization in Franklin County Ohio and was responsible for introducing naturalist outdoorsman woodcraft expert Ernest Thompson Seton to Columbus.

Seton first lectured in 1927 at the Franklin County Memorial Hall where he immediately helped raise $1,300 to launch the first Scout troop. He found enthusiastic supporters in the League of Ohio Sportsmen. Seton gave talks at their statewide assemblies about nature conservation and appreciation, woodcraft, Scouting, hiking, natural health, Native American Indian lore, dances, prayers, games, clothing, fun, wisdom and reverence for the great outdoors.

The Wolfe Family purchased the Columbus Dispatch newspaper in 1905. Their newspaper immediately began to cover Seton’s Columbus community activation faithfully. The League Of Ohio Sportsmen began bringing Boy Scouts to Seton lectures. On 12/18/1927 Columbus Ohio Scouts met Seton at the Deshler Wallick Hotel. Seton talked to the men and boys about the traditions of Woodcraft Indian Council Fires, the outdoors and its enjoyments. Seton’s Woodcraft League of America was explicitly presented as a recreational opportunity for girls and boys.

By May 1928 the Mayor of Columbus had authorized the head of City Recreation to collaborate with Seton on plans for building an Indian Woodcraft Village on city property, located on the banks of the Scioto River. The site of an original Wyandot Native encampment.

Seton’s 1928 drawings included an Indian Village Day Camp headquarters building. 
A smokehouse kitchen. Wigwams, teepees, longhouses.There was a trash burning area. A sweat lodge and a Sun Bath. Bunkhouses. And an outdoor education space for plays, dances, games, storytelling, camp crafts, wood crafts and community gatherings. Periodically, Seton offered training workshops at the Columbus Board of Education for any adults interested in becoming teachers of woodcraft and leaders in woodcraft nature study.

Seton-designed Indian Village Day Camp was formally dedicated in May of 1928. It was laid out next to the Fishinger Road Bridge. The camp was grouped around a longhouse which functioned as the Dining Hall and Council Chamber. There were 5 teepees and 2 wooden lodges providing sleeping quarters. City Recreation operated the camp and when in summer season, there were nightly Council Fire Gatherings for 50 inner city children.

July 4, 1932 the Dispatch newspaper ran a story on Indian Village Camp plans for the national holiday. Boys week and girls week alternated. On 7/4/1932 city neighbors were invited to visit. At 2:30 PM a play was performed. Sports, field games, bead-making and swimming were on the schedule. Supper was served at 5:30 PM. And at 6:30 PM The Scioto River Boat Club staged canoe races! At 7:15 PM Mayor Worley gave an address. Joined by campers who put on a Seton-inspired Council Ring Ceremony.

At 8 PM The Improved Order of Red Men, under the leadership of one Harry Lehman, concluded the evening program.

Harry Lehman’s IORM was founded in 1834. It was a national fraternity with members wearing Native costume and nomenclature. Their rituals were historically focused on preservation. One member said, “The value of the ceremonies of our Order is their historical accuracy. They seek not merely to imitate, but to preserve. When the time comes that the Indian race is extinct, our Order will occupy a place original and unique. And becoming at once, the interpreter of Indian customs and the repository of Indian traditions.” Columbus Red Men Lodge #128 continues to operate in Columbus 2023. Located at 2634 N High St, Columbus, OH, United States, 43202.

In July of 1949 the Columbus Dispatch newspaper again referenced Seton’s tradition. A Summer Reading List of Nature Books included a review of Ellsworth Jaeger’s COUNCIL FIRES. The Buffalo Museum of Science Curator was a member of Seton’s Woodcraft League. And he produced a detailed account of campfires, fire-lighting, peace pipe ceremonies, games, songs, stories, Indian dances, Indian equipment and how to make all of it using whatever was locally available.

Dr Samuel S Palmer Pastor of Broad Street Presbyterian Church initially helped Seton start the Indian Village Day Camp. Mrs Maude Fowler Wolfe was the wife of Dispatch publisher, banker & civic leader Edgar Wolfe. She served on the Board of Broad Street Presbyterian.

The chosen location was rich in Wyandot Indian lore and Seton hand-carved a large Totem for the encampment. 
Mr. A W “Bugs” Raymond was the Parks and Recreation Director. 
In the beginning, he operated the camp on weekends only. 
But after that, the Federally-funded WPA arrived and helped construct the cook shack and other new buildings.

By 1947 the Dispatch newspaper boasted of the camp’s 11 cabins each housing 8 campers + counselors. Swimming pool, shuffleboard court, a dining hall and well-equipped kitchen. A recreation hall for rainy day programming and a crafts department.
In 1947 camp sessions were 2 weeks long. Offering hiking, boating, swimming, fishing, camp fires, Indian lore activities, games, dramatics and gymnastics.
Tuition was $18 a session with additional costs covered by philanthropic donations.

Ernest Thompson Seton’s Camp-craft work lives on. Today you can visit Seton Woodcrafters in the modern Czech Republic!

The Czech Woodcraft League 2023 continues to bring people to nature and teach them how to stay there and get by with just a minimum of the items they have brought from their home in the city. 
It is believed that this is the way how to bring back to life the things which have been forgotten, both spiritual and practical. When camping in nature people can understand again where they have come from and revive their bonds with nature.

We practice so-called primitive camping, imitating techniques of the Native Americans, primeval people, indigenous people and others who were masters of woodcraft.

Our aim is not to imitate indigenous people in all details or promote the escape from civilization. We just want to help people find the roots of their humanity.We believe that lifelong education is the core principle of building true humanity. 
That is why we put stress on learning by doing within the Deed system. 
Using E T Seton’s Birch Bark Roll of Woodcraft, which was modernized and updated after the Czech Woodcraft League Revival in 1990.

Birch Bark Roll FREE Online Read at Openlibrary.org
https://openlibrary.org/works/OL17717917W/The_birch-bark_roll_of_the_Woodcraft_Indians?edition=key%3A/books/OL26319306M

A Woodcraft International Meeting is being planned for sometime in 2023-2024.
Uncertain political landscapes will determine if the gathering is ZOOM or Hybrid/meaning a bit of both.


OBJECTIVES:
Create an international coalition of Woodcraft practitioners.
Develop new friendships and connections across the world.
Share best practices across the world.
Identify ways to improve traditional WC/Woodcraft activities intended to reduce/eliminate Amerindian cultural appropriation and increase each organization’s focus on their own culture.

Contact: Marek Havrlik (marek.havrlik@seznam.cz).