ee hours and communicate with the land as if it were a human. From
             Las Casas's writings about the Spanish discovery of this land, how they destroyed anything that
             was in their way, Lopez has concluded that instead they should have asked: Who are these
             people? What is this land? Instead, the Spanish came to this continent and thought only of what
             could give them wealth. Lopez believes true wealth is sanctity, companionship, wisdom, joy,
             and serenity. We can obtain wealth by the cultivation and the achievement of local knowledge,
             learning about the land will give us wealth.
             As Lopez persuades us to treat North America as a home, he brings up horrifying present
             events that trigger our emotions to see that we have not learned anything from the past. We are
             no better than Columbus and his men. He believes we need to learn from the past so we can
             succeed in the future. As Lopez talks about learning from the land he writes:
             We never said to the people or the animals or the plants or the rivers or the mountains:
             What do you think of this? We said what we thought and bent to our will whatever
             resisted. I do not suggest lightly, or as a k
             ...