Would love to hear if anyone else has grappled with a similar issue?

If we only wrote in the narrow bubble of what we've experienced, then imagination and empathy wouldn't need to exist.

I agree with this. Also, when you have more time than 48 hours, try to get someone that IS represented in your story to do a Sensitivity Read for you.

That is a fantastic idea about a 'sensitivity read', it's so easy to take a misstep with these things. For instance, I found out that some names assigned to Kurdish people in the media are actually the names Turkish authorities insisted on, and are often intended to make them sound less Kurdish. I very very nearly fell into that trap, and only by chance found out in time.

This round I appropriated an old Indian legend and reworked it for my prompts. I also added a more meaningful ending. I do not feel this is offensive because no particular tribe had claim to this legend; furthermore, I kept as much of the “gist” of the original story as possible. Actually, there wasn’t much of an original story there. If anything, I believe, I have brought the legend of the snake woman back into the light. Will others agree?  Maybe, and then, maybe not. Some may not like my additions.  They may not mind I made additions, but they might wish I’d gone a different way with them. Others may believe only an Indian has the right to embellish this story. 

There are obviously arguments pro and con re what I have done. But my conscious is clear, and for most of us I believe that is the best measure as to whether what we have done is appropriate. 

It is hard sometimes to write in a thoughtful honest fashion about a race or gender or religion that isn't yours. I'm no Arthur Golden.

Perhaps the reason you and I feel differently is because your story identifies with a particular tribe whereas mine is so old that it is simply "Indian."  But then, maybe not.  Either way, I like the fact that you did what your conscious told you to do - that is exactly what I was saying.  I hope you will read my story and be honest in your opinion.  I think you will see where the big change from the original story comes, and I hope you will see what I did, in the end, was to use the Snake Woman legend as a hope for the future.  But maybe that isn't relevant or important...anyway, I'd be glad for you to tell me what you thought.  

Oh, I feel different completely when it comes to mythology. Any culture's legends and mythology have universal threads and generally aren't offensive to adapt or reference within the literary world. That's, like, Charles de Lint's whole career. I use old fairy tales and mythology a lot, allegorically, in my novels. It takes a different measure of sensitivity and caution to write about another race or so forth in modern reality-based terms. And I already intended to read your story once it posts ^_^ . It sounded really interesting just from the title and tagline.

Well, I have heard of instances where different ethnic groups have been offended by someone using one of their legends, etc., in a story/novel.  Frankly, I think they should be flattered so long as it is done tastefully -- now I realize "tastefully" is a matter of opinion, but then it is like obscenity, as the Supreme Court said, we know it when we see it.  Some white writers, I believe, are frightened to write anything but pure white stories because of this.   I know I've been criticized by the judges here for my portrayal of Southern blacks and the whites who interacted with them -- they say people just don't act that way.  I don't think they have lived in the Deep South is what I'd like to say to them!  

In other words, some people are always offended.  It goes back to my conscious statement.  Yes, some people don't have one.  But a person who does will know whether they are being fair and true to the original legend or myth sufficiently.  In mine, I tell the story of the original and then take it past it -- the original is very short.  I see no harm in that; it is "the rest of the story." 

The versions that were eventually written down are no more "true" versions than ones that never saw the page. So long as the message is consistent, altering ancient myths should be fine as far as I can see, especially if they are being given a twist that again makes them more relevant for modern times.

However, I do accept that I am saying this from the point of view of someone who does not come from a culture that has been sneered at and derided by others. Perhaps if I did, I may have a different opinion.