I am getting sick of writing these pieces to respond to people like Rick Santorum

When faced with Santorum’s unchecked ignorance, my first instinct is to dispel this hurtful narrative, and rattle off all the ways my people have shaped the foundation and survival of these United States. First of all: land. Having it stolen wasn’t our choice, but it’s at the top of my list. Then, I don’t know, a template for our democracy — something Santorum ignored twice — and women in leadership roles? Cotton, tobacco, potatoes, tomatoes, chocolate and sports such as football and lacrosse? Art movements, astronomy, architecture, nautical navigation and technologies so advanced they were pretty much considered magic by the first non-Native Americans to see them?