Introduction
With over a century of service, Kia Kima has provided countless memories for Scouts and Scouters. In addition to its mission of reconnecting alumni and supporting the reservation, the Kia Kima Alumni Association seeks to preserve the traditions and heritage of Kia Kima.
Founded in 1916 outside of Hardy, Arkansas, Kia Kima is one of the oldest Scout camps in operation in the United States.
The Kia Kima Heritage Project documents the history of Kia Kima, the Chickasaw Council, Scouting, and the areas and camps interwoven into Kia Kima's storied history.
The Heritage Project is a project of the Kia Kima Alumni Association, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The mission of the Kia Kima Alumni Association is to reconnect alumni with Kia Kima; to support Kia Kima Scout Reservation and its staff; and to promote the Scouting program.
Navigating the Museum
The Exhibits tell the stories of Kia Kima and Scouting. These exhibits range from broad overviews of the history to specific topics such as Kia Kima's original camp fraternity (the Council Scouts) or lists of camp directors. For learning the interpretive history of Kia Kima, browse the Exhibits.
Items are things such as documents, images, or videos. These are tagged and sorted into Collections based on topics. For general browsing, view the Collections. For browsing specific topics, view the Items sorted by their tags.
The text of the items are also searchable using the website's search function. This uses uncorrected OCR (automated scanning) of the text of the items.
About the Project
The Kia Kima Heritage Project launched on May 15, 2019. It documents the history of Kia Kima, the Chickasaw Council, and the areas and camps interwoven into Kia Kima's storied history.
Every effort is made to archive documents and photographs with high quality standards; however, some of these sources were initially printed with low quality, especially documents and newsletters that were originally printed in-house by Scouting volunteers. Some of these documents were printed or copied with the edges cut-off, at skewed angles, or with indiscernible photographs.
Items that are under licensing agreements with the Kia Kima Alumni Association are noted on their individual pages. These agreements provide for their use by the Kia Kima Alumni Association solely as part of this historical display.
Credits
Each item is accompanied by certain metadata crediting individuals associated with that item.
Every attempt has been made to properly credit individuals who have contributed. However, with the advent of social media, many pictures have been shared multiple times and it has been difficult to determine the original creators, sources, and publishers. If you are able to provide information regarding these credits, please contact us using the contact form so we may update the information.
Historical Sensitivity
Items are presented as they existed in their original form for historical accuracy. Some items may contain or depict racial or culturally insensitive language, characterizations, portrayals, or topics. While Scouting in Memphis has at times been regarded as a positive force in furthering interracial Scouting and equality, it still existed at times within the context of a segregated South. The materials reflect the culture and context in which they were created and do not reflect the views and principles of the Kia Kima Alumni Association, the Chickasaw Council, or the Scouting movement.