It’s a sunny Sunday morning. Olivia wakes up to the sound of a loud car engine. She gets up and walks to the window to take a look. She sees a Uhaul truck.

“Someone must be moving next door.” Oliva thinks to herself. 

The next day at school, Olivia’s class is introduced to a new student.

 “ Boys and girls, this is Dakota, she just moved here.” says the teacher. 

 Dakota has long black hair, brown skin, and wears cool bracelets and necklaces. She does not look like the rest of the girls at Olivia’s school. 

Olivia decides she wants to be friends with Dakota.

That day at lunchtime, Olivia invites Dakota to sit with her and her friends. 

One of Olivia’s friends asks Dakota why she wears so much jewelry. 

She asks “ Why is your necklace a big blue rock?” “It looks weird” 

Dakota looks down, a little embarrassed but responds “ It’s not just any rock, it’s a special stone.” “It means a lot to my family.” 

“Well, I think it’s really cool and beautiful” Olivia says. 

Dakota smiles and is happy to hear Olivia’s kind words.

Back in the classroom, the teacher tells everyone to find a partner to work on an assignment. 

Olivia notices nobody has picked Dakota so she goes up to her and asks her to be her partner. 

Dakota agrees. 

Together, they work on the project.

Olivia asks Dakota where she moved to and soon Olivia realizes that Dakota is her new neighbor! 

As they both work on the project they realize that they both have a lot in common.

 They seem to be more alike than different.

Olivia is still interested in learning more about Dakota’s jewelry so she asks her about her necklace. 

Dakota explains very proudly that the stone is important to her because it represents her history and culture. 

“This is a turquoise stone and it represents the sky, in my Native American culture.” “It is also called the fallen sky stone and my mom and dad say that it gives life-giving powers and it helps you connect with Mother Nature.” 

Olivia has a big smile on her face and this makes Dakota happy because she enjoys talking about her jewelry. 

Dakota has always been proud of her culture and where she comes from. 

From that moment, Dakota knows her and Olivia are going to be good friends.