Jasmine Hamerter

1/28/08

Group B

      Long, long ago there were two tribes one called the Navaho who lived on the Hope Memorial Bridge side and there other was the Cherokee’s who lived on the Superior Detroit Bridge side. The king iron bridge company had constructed these two wonderful native bridges that had so much history behind it. Daily it was common for these tribes to make their way to the market to barter. They brought blankets and carved artifacts to sell. One day a beautiful young women name Armani was crossing with her family over the bridge and noticed in the distance a young handsome Cherokee buck. The sight of his masculine demeanor made her stop to stair. She had never seen such a red boned Indian boy before. Her father noticed that she was paying attention so he then tapped her on the shoulder to let her know that she needed to keep up because they were moving further ahead.

          She could hardly take her eyes off him as she moved forward towards the market. The next day as she woke, she wonders if she would see her handsome young buck again. She called to her father “dad lets go we have to get to the market”. As she approached that point on the bridge she glared across the border to see if she could see the young man again. As she glanced across the bridge she saw him and to her surprise he lifted his hand to wave at her and she waved back. She smiled to herself thinking “he noticed me”. As the months grew longer they would look for each other and try to send signals to each other. Then suddenly one day Armani’s mother sent her to purchase more yarn from the market. This was new for Armani cause she had never ventured to the Navaho market side. In the distance she heard the most beautiful sound which seemed to be being played by a music box. When she turned to hear where the sound was coming from there he was her young buck. To her amazement he was staring right at her. He introduced himself as Chao. And she then replied bluntly I’m Armani. They smiled at one another and just stared. As she made her purchase she turned and waved. From that day forward she always made it a habit to sell out of something so she could go to the other side to see Chao.

One day he decided to come back with Armani to meet her family. Her mother looked up and said “who is this Armani” with a gleam in her eye she introduced Chao to her family. But before she could say Chaos name her father turned in disappoint. Chao knowing the tribe difference’s walked up to her father and said “sir may I speak to you alone”. As the two men walked away Armani wondered what would become of the conversation. Chao said “for many years are families have come to this market to barter with one another and I realized it’s hard to change are tribe traditions”. But sir I love Armani and I would like to ask her hand in marriage. Then Chao began to explain how his craftsmanship was going to be a profitable business which meant he could be a good provider for his daughter. After they talked for a little more of their differences out Armani’s dad decided to meet with Chao’s dad. For the first couple of months of planning the wedding after Chao got his father’s blessings there were still a lot of disagreements but they worked them out. Finally the special day came when Armani and Chao would get married and the Navaho and the Cherokee’s would join as one native tribe creating a bridge of friendship hope and power that their native land might prosper by working together as one.