Story Planning: Avian Elements of the Peace Pipes

My source story was The Legend of the Peace Pipes from Myths and Legends of the Great Plains by  Katharine Berry Judson (1913).

My original reading notes: 
The Legend of the Peace Pipes
"This is my favorite story in part A of this week's reading; it gave me so many ideas.  First of all, there are blatant mentions of immoralities (that the peace pipes are meant to remedy) at the end of this story, which makes it a potential candidate for my portfolio.  I enjoyed the incorporation of the different types of plants and animals, and I found it intriguing that the tribal chief was so meticulous about which sapling or feather should be used to make the peace pipes.  My story idea is to have the rejected plants and animals represent an immorality, possibly the two explicitly mentioned in the story.  I'd explain more about why the chief did not want to use these materials to build the peace pipes, and show that it was because they came from beings that were not peaceful or moral. "
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I still have a similar plan for this story in the sense that I want to explain why the spotted and bald eagle were not allowed to contribute a feather to the tribe's peace pipe.  I knew I wanted to include some immorality themes, which I elaborate more on later, but I wasn't sure how to go about this story.  I was leaning toward keeping the same style of storytelling as the original story, and almost making my story seem like a "lost book" or part of the original.  I'm honestly not sure of any other style I could use to tell the story in the way that I intend.   

I consulted several wikipedia articles to learn more about some of the elements in this story, and hopefully gain more inspiration.  

Article: Ceremonial Pipe
I learned about "peace pipes" while reading this article, and this gave me more ideas for my possible story.  Ceremonial pipes can be used as a sort of treaty, and can represent war or peace within a tribe. The use of "peace pipes" varies by Native American tribe, though, and I did not find anything too specific about how the Omaha tribe used their peace pipes. 

Article: Great Spotted Eagle
A spotted eagle is featured in this story - he drops a feather to the tribe, but they decide against using it in the construction of their peace pipe, although they do not elaborate on why.  I discovered that the scientific name for the spotted eagle, clanga, translates to "scream."  Because I plan to elaborate on why these birds' feathers were not used to make the peace pipe, I've decided I will make the spotted eagle represent "cowardice."  I think cowardice would be frowned upon by the Omaha tribe, especially if the peace pipe is meant to represent both war and peace. 

A "vengeful" bald eagle. Courtesy of Jerry and Pat Danaho on Flickr

A bald eagle is also a rejected peace pipe candidate in my source story, so I also plan to elaborate on why.  In this story, the peace pipe is meant to prevent revenge, so I think I will make the bald eagle a vengeful character in my rendition.  

The imperial eagle presents the feather that is chosen to be used in the peace pipe, and in my story I will explain why his feather was chosen.  It will probably be along the lines of this bird representing a thriving "empire" or in this case tribe. 

I didn't really want to do a story planning post this week, but I was having such trouble coming up with a story despite having a good idea about everything I want to include.  I'll reexamine this story next week, and decide if I want to make something out of it, or if I'd rather start over with a new unit and story.