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Overview of Scouting in the State of Indiana

Scouting in Indiana has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live.

Indianapolis is home to Troop 9, founded by "Chief" Francis Oliver Belzer in 1910, one of the first Scout troops in America. Belzer founded Firecrafter at Camp Chank Tun Un Gi (now called Camp Belzer) in the summer of 1920. Belzer also served as the first Scout Executive for the Indianapolis Council, later known as the Central Indiana Council. The first National Order of the Arrow Conference was held at Indiana University in 1948.

In 1950, 1956, 1961, 1965, 1969, 1990, 2002, 2009 and 2018, the National Order of the Arrow Conference (NOAC) was held at Indiana University in Bloomington, the most frequent venue for the event. In 1994, NOAC was held at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.

There are nine Boy Scouts of America (BSA) local councils in Indiana. All of Indiana lies within Central Region, except for Clark, Scott, Floyd, Harrison, Crawford, and Washington counties, as part of Southern Region.

The Anthony Wayne Scout Reservation is a Scouts BSA camp located near Ashley, Indiana, United States. The reservation has three key areas: Camp Chief Little Turtle (CCLT), Camp Foellinger, and Camp Wilderness. Camp Chief Little Turtle is the main camp. It has many activity centers, such as a waterfront, handicraft, outdoor skills, Project C. O. P. E., and other typical features of a Scouts BSA camp. Camp Foellinger is used mainly for special events, such as Cub Scout camp, National Youth Leadership Training, and Order of the Arrow events. Camp Wilderness contains the Jack Zeiger Ropes Course — used for C. O. P. E. and rock climbing — and Orion, an area used for camping and wilderness survival training.

The Buffalo Trace Council is based in Evansville, Indiana that serves southwestern Indiana and southeastern Illinois. Its affiliated Order of the Arrow lodge is Kiondaga Lodge.

The Buffalo Trace Council has operated four camps throughout its existence, three of which are still in existence. Camp Arthur, located near Vincennes, opened in 1945 and was removed from the list of BSA approved camping facilities for a time in the mid 1990s. Camp Carnes, located between Jasper and Dubois, has since changed ownership to the City of Jasper and is run as a park. Old Ben Scout Reservation (OBSR), located in Pike County, Indiana opened in 1985 on the site of an abandoned strip mine operated by the Old Ben Coal Company and was the council's current primary summer camp location, until a lack of funding forced the council to cease having summer camps there. Camp Pohoka was the previous summer camp location, but was shut down when OBSR was opened.

Pathway to Adventure Council is based in Chicago, Illinois and covers much of its metro area, including the north west corner of Indiana.

Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, the Crossroads of America Council (BSA Council #160) serves Scouts and Scouters in Central Indiana. It was initially formed when Central Indiana Council, Delaware County Council, Kikthawenund Council, and Whitewater Valley Council merged in 1972.

The Hoosier Trails Council, BSA serves in 18 counties in south central Indiana, and to more than 6,000 youth each year.

The Hoosier Trails Council is the result of several council mergers. In 1921, the Bartholomew County Council (#150) was founded. During the late 1920s, it merged into the Hoosier Hills Area Council (#150), founded in 1928. In 1928 the Lost River Area Council was founded. In 1931 it was absorbed into the White River Area Council (#145), founded in 1927. In 1973, White River and Hoosier Hills merged to form the Hoosier Trails Council (#145).

Resident summer camp is held at Maumee Scout Reservation, located on Lake Tarzian in the Hoosier National Forest. Maumee first opened in 1972 for White River Council as a replacement for its previous camp, Camp Wapehani in Bloomington, Indiana which had been divided by a recent re alignment of State Road 37. The property is near in Norman, Indiana. Lake Tarzian is named after Sarkes Tarzian who led the capital campaign to build the camp. Until 2023, the council also possessed Camp Louis Ernst in Dupont. Louis Ernst was founded in 1928 and operated by Hoosier Hills Council until its merger with White River Council to form Hoosier Trails Council in 1973. After this, Louis operated as a summer camp until 1983 when it was reduced to primitive camping. The camp was officially transferred to a group known as the Friends of Camp Louis Ernst in 2023.

Nischa Chuppecat Lodge (#212) is Hoosier Trails' Order of the Arrow Lodge. It was founded in 1973 as the merger of Wazi Yata (#290) and So Aka Gha Gwa (#212) lodges. Both So Aka Gha Gwa and Wazi Yata can trace back their heritage to other organizations separate from the Order of the Arrow. The predecessor to So Aka Gha Gwa, the Order of The Golden Arrow, was founded at Cataract Falls in the late 1930s and became So Aka Gha Gwa Lodge in 1941. The predecessor to Wazi Yata, the Order of the Wazi Yata, was founded at Camp Louis Ernst in 1934 and became Wazi Yata Lodge in 1945. Nischa Chuppecat and So Aka Gha Gwa have collectively hosted the National Order of the Arrow Conference (NOAC) at Indiana University eleven times as of the summer of 2018, the most of any lodge in the nation.

La Salle Council serves Scouts in Indiana and Michigan.

The George Rogers Clark Council was formed by Scouts of Clark, Floyd, Harrison, Crawford, Scott, and Washington counties in 1927, and merged with Old Kentucky Home Council in 1993 to form the Lincoln Heritage Council, which serves Scouts in Kentucky and Indiana. The Council absorbed the Shawnee Trails Council of western Kentucky (and part of southern Illinois and northwestern Tennessee) in April 2012 to serve scouts in Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, and Tennessee.

There are 5 Girl Scout councils that serve Indiana. On August 26, 2006, Girl Scouts of the USA's (GSUSA) national board of directors voted to endorse a plan to realign 312 councils into 109 high capacity, community based councils. The new structure will make the most effective use of resources to better serve the local community and create more opportunities in Girl Scouting for even more girls. Girl Scouts of Central Indiana was the first Girl Scout council in the nation to complete the merger process.

See Scouting in Illinois for more information. The former Scouts of The Calumet Council and Drifting Dunes Girl Scout Council became part of this council.

See Scouting in Kentucky for more information. Serves many counties in southern Indiana