Week 10: Storytelling: Peace Pipe

Eagle Tournament 

One day high up above where the sky touched the earth was a mass convocation of the eagle. Today would the day that one eagle would be chosen to sacrifice a feather. This feather would be used in the making of the an all sacred piece pipe. This sacred peace pipe would be used by the Indians on earth to create peace with one another.

The judges of this competition would-would be the wise old owl and the cunning woodpecker. They would sit on earth with the Indians and help decide what feather would be chosen.

Up above all different eagles gather from across the great horizon. They had been preparing for this for years. They sharpened their beaks and talons, but most of all made sure their feathers on point.

The competition would begin by a showing of every owl's feather. After the select few were chosen the next set would begin. The eagles would be judged on sturdiness, appearance, color, softness and weight. After a long and hard thought out decision, the top eagles were the spotted eagle, bald eagle, golden eagle, and imperial eagle. For all of their feathers stood out among the others.

The next challenge was dropped a single feather in the middle of the sacred circle on the earth and have it stand straight up. In the sacred circle, the owl and woodpecker were watching, along with the Indians.

The first eagle to try was the golden one. He picked out the longest feather and began to fly over the circle. The wind was strong and blowing hard to the east. When the golden eagle dropped his feather it did not land straight up. It fell flat on it side and the golden eagle was out of the challenge.

Next up was the spotted eagle. The spotted eagle chooses to pick his most spotted feather. The spotted owl watched how the wind affected the other father, and accounted for that. Yet, as soon as the spotted eagle dropped the feather a butterfly interrupted its path. With the gentle touch of the butterfly and the feather the path to winning was corrupted. Now the spotted eagle was out of the challenge.

After that, the bald eagle was up. The bold eagle chooses his strongest most sturdy feather. The bald eagle watched the wind, watched for incoming bugs and determined a path to drop the feather. Before the bald eagle could even drop the feather he was struck down by a nearby tree. The spirits of the earth interfered and did not want the bald eagle to win the challenge.

Now in the competition only the imperial eagle remained. If the imperial eagle could not win the challenge the peace pipe would never be made. The imperial eagle chooses the feather closest to his heart. He did not check for the wind, he did not check for bugs and he did not check his surroundings. The imperial eagle knew that he could the challenge. He flew above the circle with a courageous heart and dropped the feather.

Down on earth the owl and the woodpecker along with the Indians watched at the feather fluttered down. The feather of the imperil eagle landed straight up in the center of the sacred circle. The imperial eagle had won the challenge. His feathers would be used to make the sacred piece pipe for now an years to come.

Imperial Eagle on Flickr by Frankie Chu

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Author's note: In the original story it tells how the Indians gathered as a council. They cleared a circle and sat down. They heard the owl and woodpecker near bye. The chief said they would offer us aid, so he had them join the circle. This is why I choose the owl and woodpecker to be the judges in the circle. Then as the Indians sat in the circle the chief sent for someone to get wood and ash sapling. Every time a feather fell into the circle the chief sent him back for a different one. Then one feather landed staring up and the chief said this was the right wood and sapling and this is the feather we will use. From then on the peace pipes have been made from the imperial eagle's feathers. In my story, I choose to tell it from the eagles side of the story. I turned it into a competition. Oppose to the eagle feathers telling the Indians what wood and sapling were correct.

Story Source: From the Great Plains unit, story The Legend of the Peace Pipes by Katharine Berry Judson (1913).