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. "
----------

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.  

Reading Notes: Great Plains Part B

Part B of Katharine Berry Judson's Myths and Legends of the Great Plains, 1913, was full of more immorality than part A, but inspired my own creativity less for some reason.  If I don't come up with a story idea after the first couple of times of reading over a story, I usually won't come up with one at all, and I hate having to try to force one.  I did think of a few ideas that hopefully I can expand on after they ferment in my mind a little bit.

Two Teton Ghost Stories

This was a short but very fun read, especially "The Ghost and the Traveler".  The man ends up traveling with the ghost woman, but doubts and fears her, in a totally random way, causing her to disappear.  I thought the random thought of fear the man had toward the ghost woman was hilarious, and if I choose to write about this story, I will definitely center it around that interaction or thought.  I think it illustrated the point that we should only fear fear itself, and that anything else may only cause us despair. 

Why the Possum Plays Dead

This story is full of immoralities thanks to that rude little rabbit, and I love possums, so this story is a double win!  Unfortunately I can only think of writing a child's rhyme about this story, which would be really cool to do, but also very difficult.  I'm good at rhyming, but just not in a way that is good for longer stories, or stories that appeal to children. I do really like the idea though, so I will continue to ponder how I can create a story out of this legend.

A sweet angel playing dead. Courtesy of Wikipedia

Coyote and Snake

Another wonderful, short story full of immoralities that are demonstrated by both of the main characters!  For this story, I could expand upon the immoralities committed by both parties by writing it in the form of a confession from the snake (since the snake kills the coyote.)  By writing my story in this fashion, I could add a new perspective while also expanding upon what was presented in the legend.  I could even change the characters from animals to people - that may add even more to the immoral themes. 

Reading Notes: Great Plains Part A

I read Myths and Legends of the Great Plains by Katharine Berry Judson (1913) for week 10, and encountered some very interesting stories.  I liked that the lengths of the stories varied quite a bit, and also that the themes were so different.  I assumed I would be most attracted to the ghost stories, but I actually didn't really draw any inspiration for my own story from them, though I did enjoy reading them.  The stories that did inspire me were actually the first three stories in the unit, which are:

The Creation
This story gives an interesting perspective on the creation of the earth and its inhabitants.  Although I didn't see any immorality in this story to use for my portfolio, I did have the idea to write about funerals for the animals that perish at the end.  The sun and moon, and possibly the wind, could be the main speakers at these funerals.

Sacred Legend
I really loved this story!  It used parallel structure beautifully to explain the evolution of tribal "technology" and companionship.  If I were to write about this story, I would use a lot of pictures to illustrate the development of new methods and devices by the people in this story.  I like this idea a lot, but I think the downfalls are the fact that this story doesn't display any immorality, and that it may be hard for me to reach the minimum word count with a story.  I could just rework the story I suppose...

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.

A ceremonial peace pipe. Courtesy of Wikipedia