Ganosote Lodge was formed in Erie County Council in 1921 by Hans Walter, the chairman of the Camping Committee. On June 23, 1939 the Erie Councy Council Scout Executive put forth an application for an Order of the Arrow Lodge to support the council’s senior scout activities. The lodge was intended to function at Camp Ti-Wa-Ya-Ee. The application was approved by the National Lodge on July 7, 1939 and was assigned Lodge 159. The name "Ganosote" means "longhouse," the living building of the Iroquois. The first Western New York Order of the Arrow induction was held in 1939 at camp Ti-Wa-Ya-Ee. In the charter application, the Lodge selected Howard Seitz as the Lodge Chief and Dr. Earl Ploss as the Lodge Advisor.

In 1949, the Erie County Council merged with the Buffalo Council to form the Buffalo Area Council. Buffalo Council had an organization similar to the Order of the Arrow called the "Tribe of the Wo-Kan-Da." This organization was dissolved, and the new council adopted the OA and continued the name and totem of Ganosote. In January of 1953 the first issue of the lodge flap and neckerchief went on sale. By 1965, Ganosote Lodge was the largest lodge in the United States.

In Spring 1967, the Greater Niagara Frontier Council was formed through the merger of the Niagara Frontier Council (Tuscarora Lodge) and the Buffalo Area Council (Ganosote Lodge). A new merged Lodge was formed, taking the name Ho-De-No-Sau-Nee, meaning "People of the Longhouse."