Yesterday Deb Haaland was confirmed as the Secretary of the Interior. Republicans were strongly opposed to her confirmation fearing that she is not a friend of Trump’s deregulatory agenda. As a member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe she becomes the first native American cabinet secretary in US history. Her appointment is hailed by environmental organizations since our continent’s indigenous people have always shown reverence, respect and humility in their relationship with the environment. Native Americans always maintained a delicate balance between what they took from the land and what they gave back to it. The Interior Department still mages twenty percent of US lands and although harnessing benefits from it has advantages it must be done in a responsible way. We can not go back to the time when much damage was done to the environment by unscrupulous resource extraction. In the US it all began with the discovery of gold In California in 1849 and then on Indian lands about 150 years ago. But on our continent the arrival of the Spaniards in 1500 led to the largest quest of gold and silver ever and in the process not only damaged the land but destroyed many cultural treasures. We certainly should use public lands to our mutual benefit but we should always do it wisely!