Lodge Totems

A totem can be earned by any member of Wulapeju Lodge that is in good standing. Only one totem may be earned per life; however, a replacement totem can be earned by Arrowmen who have lost their totem.

The totem is to be worn around the neck. There are three styles that may be worn depending on the honor held:

  • The Brotherhood totem (shown above) consists of a leather strap, arrowhead, bones and beads.
  • The Ordeal totem is similar to the Brotherhood totem except it ony has one bone and bead.
  • The Vigil totem has 3 bones and bead formed into a triangle.
For specific requirements and an application for a totem please download this PDF file.

Here are examples of the Totem used by Wulapeju Lodge (and its predecessor Ma-Ka-Tai-Me-She-Kia-Kiak Lodge). The two on the left show the early hand-hammered arrowhead piece and the leather thongs that had knots with significance. The end knots were preferred to be “barrel knots.” Knots up the length of the thongs depicted chapter or lodge officer positions or ceremonial team participation (this is no longer done). Note that the length of the thong at one point was WAY longer than it is today.

The right-most example show the “bones and beads” style presently used.

Below is how the totem looks before hammering and plating. For many years the old Winnebago Chapter (Winnebago County west of the Rock River which is now part of Mawat Chapter) handled most of the arrowhead hammering and plating.

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