Scouting in Hawaii began in the 1900s. It serves thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live.
Early history prior to statehood (1908-1960)
The first troop in the islands, appropriately numbered Troop 1, was founded by a British Scouter just recently relocated, and chartered to Kawaiahao Church. One Saturday, former Queen Liliuokalani was driven past Kapiolani Park in Honolulu, and noticed this troop going through Scouting drills. She stopped and enquired what manner of military play this was, and the Scouts eagerly explained the concept of Scouting to her. On a following Saturday a month later, the Queen reappeared, and presented to the troop a Hawaiian flag. Emblazoned upon the red-white-and-blue stripes were the Hawaiian royal crest and the lettering in gold The Queen's Own Troop, which she had labored at herself. As the Scoutmaster was an Englishman, in their tradition of naming rather than numbering troops, the appellation stuck. The unit claiming longest continuous charter is Troop 1.
Troop 5 up until the early 1980s held the distinction of the longest continuously chartered unit in Hawaii. It was Troop 5 that was known as "The Queen's Own Troop" that received the flag which was made by her own hands. The flag was held by the Liliuokalani Trust until it was given to the Aloha Council BSA by a previous Assistant Scoutmaster, David Jeong of Troop 5. The flag was given as part of the Centennial Celebration of Scouting in 2010. One of Troop 5's Scoutmasters, "Kimo" James Austin Wilder was also a founder of the Sea Scout program.
David McHattie Forbes was the founder of Scouting in Waimea in the early 1900s.
In 1946, Scouts helped re-introduce the endangered nene into the Haleakala National Park by carrying young birds into the Haleakala Crater in their backpacks.
The Honolulu Council (#104) was founded in 1914, and became the Honolulu County Council in 1924. In 1957, the council became the Aloha Council.
History since statehood
In 1972, the third Hawaiian council, Kilauea Council (#103) based in Hilo (founded in 1922) merged with the Aloha Council.
Maui County Council
Maui County Council was founded in 1917, and until 2019, was one of the very few councils that have not undergone a name change or merger in its entire history. With headquarters in Wailuku, Maui, the council served the islands of Moloka'i, Lāna'i and Maui. In 2019, the Maui County Council merged with the Aloha Council.
Camps
Camp Maluhia
Order of the Arrow
Maluhia Lodge 554, chartered in 1962, was made up of Arrowmen from the Maui County Council (Maui, Lāna'i, Moloka'i). The lodge totem was a Hawaiian warrior wearing an ipu (gourd) mask that represents the Hawaiian god Lono. Given that the word "maluhia" in Hawaiian means "peace", it was fitting that Lono, the Hawaiian god of peace, was represented in the lodgeʻs totem. When the Maui County Council and the Aloha Council merged in 2019, Maluhia Lodge was absorbed in Nā Mokupuni o Lawelawe Lodge and became Nā Koa Chapter.
Scouting in Hawaii today
There is only one Boy Scouts of America (BSA) local council in Hawaii.
Aloha Council
The Aloha Council of the Boy Scouts of America is headquartered in Honolulu, and supports Scouting units around the Pacific Basin. The Aloha Council encompasses Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Marianas, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau. The Aloha Council covers the largest geographical area in the world, over , spanning on both sides of the equator and international dateline.
In 2004, Scouts attended local council camps on American Samoa, Hawaii's Big Island, Guam, Kauai and Oahu. Aloha Council Pacific Basin District outreach efforts in the Pacific continue to grow with over 835 Boy Scouts and 240 Cub Scouts attending camps on Chuuk, Pohnpei, Kosrae, Saipan, Kwajalein, Rongelap, Majuro, Yap and Palau.
In 2018, the 45-year-old council badge was changed to include a green sea turtle and names the three primary locations serviced, " - American Samoa - Guam".