what does kinos statement "I am a man" mean to juana?

Kino is tired of being cheated by the speculators (traders) in town. He feels like he is being treated like a stupid animal rather than a man. He tells Juana that they will go to the city with the Pearl where he can sell his pearl with dignity, "In the morning we will take our canoe and we will go over the sea and over the mountains to the capital, you and I. We will not be cheated. I am a man."