Trump wants immigrants to "go back." Native Americans don’t.

For thousands of years, the Pueblo people have inhabited this continent. We developed food sources and a strong agricultural tradition, and we perfected rock and adobe architecture. Without Native American knowledge, experience and intelligence across this country, many Europeans would not have survived their first winter.

This is the first time in history that someone like me has a platform in Congress to give this perspective. This year, I joined Sharice Davids of Kansas as the first two Native American women elected to Congress. The resilience of our communities and our drive to protect our culture is the reason we believe that everyone has a right to be here.

The fact that the president claims this country as his own and wants to keep everyone in their place proves that he doesn’t understand his place. I question the standing of anyone who would call to send my sisters and colleagues — Congresswomen Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib — or any other American “back.” As a 35th-generation New Mexican and a descendant of the original inhabitants of this continent, I say that the promise of our country is for everyone to find success, pursue happiness and live lives of equality. This is the Pueblo way. It’s the American way.