Laguna Pueblo

Laguna Pueblo

Laguna Mission
Nearest city Albuquerque, New Mexico
Coordinates 35°1′8″N 107°23′04″W / 35.01889°N 107.38444°W / 35.01889; -107.38444Coordinates: 35°1′8″N 107°23′04″W / 35.01889°N 107.38444°W / 35.01889; -107.38444
Area 108 acres (44 ha)
Built 1699 (1699)
Architectural style Pueblo
NRHP Reference # 73001154[1]
NMSRCP # 228
Significant dates
Added to NRHP June 19, 1973
Designated NMSRCP December 30, 1971
Laguna Pueblo

Pueblo of Laguna symbol
Total population
3,600 (1990)[2]
Regions with significant populations
 United States ( New Mexico)
Languages
Keresan language, English language
Religion
traditional tribal religion, Christianity (Roman Catholicism and other)
Related ethnic groups
Acoma Pueblo, other Keres people
(Cochiti Pueblo, San Felipe Pueblo, Santo Domingo Pueblo, and Zia Pueblo)

The Laguna Pueblo (Western Keres: Kawaika [kʰɑwɑjkʰɑ]) is federally recognized Native American tribe of the Pueblo people in west-central New Mexico, USA. The name, Laguna, is Spanish (meaning "small lake") and derives from the lake located on their reservation. Originally, this body of water was the only lake in what is now the state of New Mexico, and was formed by an ancient dam that was constructed by the Laguna people.

The population of the tribe exceeds 7,000 enrolled members, making it the largest Keresan-speaking tribe. After the Pueblo Revolt of 1680-1696, the Mission San José de la Laguna was erected by the Spanish at the old pueblo (now Old Laguna), and finished around July 4, 1699.

History

The people of Laguna have a long history of residing in and farming along the Rio San José in west-central New Mexico. Laguna history begins long before the advent of written records in the Southwest [3]. It is a common misconception that the Pueblo of Laguna began in 1699, at the time of the construction of the Mission. However, research of 1,449 archaeological sites and an anthropological analysis of the Laguna oral history have firmly proven that people have inhabited the area ranging from 6500 B.C. to the present.[4]

Lagunas value intellectual activity and education, so a scholarship program has led to many well educated Lagunas. Uranium mining on Pueblo of Laguna land has contributed to this scholarship program as well as to skilled labor learning among Laguna members. Lagunas and other Pueblos enjoy baseball. Like many Pueblos, the Laguna people are skilled in pottery.

Laguna Construction Company, a construction company owned by the Pueblo of Laguna, is one of the largest U.S. contractors in Iraq, with reconstruction contracts worth more than $300 million since 2004. In addition to its headquarters at the pueblo, Laguna Industries, Inc. maintains offices in Albuquerque, New Mexico; San Antonio and Houston, Texas; Baghdad, Iraq, and Amman, Jordan. In 2007, Laguna Construction employed 75 people, most of whom belong to the pueblo.[5]

The Acoma Pueblo and Pueblo of Laguna have many ties, including location, language and a shared high school.

The Pueblo of Laguna has a well-established Tribal Law system. The Pueblo of Laguna has participated as a "Weed and Seed" tribe . This Department of Justice program studied the enforcement of law and effectiveness of social programs on Native American lands.

Their reservation lies in parts of four counties: In descending order of included land area they are Cibola, Sandoval, Valencia and Bernalillo Counties. It includes the six villages of Encinal, Laguna, Mesita, Paguate, Paraje and Seama, and had a total population of 3,815 persons as of the 2000 census. The reservation is 45 miles (72 km) west of the city of Albuquerque. The reservation consists of approximately 500,000 acres (2,000 km2).[6]

The Irish surname Riley was adopted by many members of the Laguna tribe in the 1800s, for legal use in European-American culture, while they retained their Laguna names for tribal use.

Geography

Rio San Jose

The Laguna Pueblo (and the Acoma Pueblo) lie in the river basin of the Rio San Jose.[7] The laguna or lake was historically much larger than the present time and hosted waterfowl of many kinds, including ducks, geese and swans.[8] The Rio San Jose flows into the Rio Puerco near the southeast corner of the Laguna Reservation.

Communities

Education

Primary and middle school education is provided by the Laguna Department of Education,[9] which also operates Early Childhood program and adult education programs. The high school is shared with nearby Acoma Pueblo.

Language

Laguna man and woman in traditional clothing

Lagunas traditionally speak the Western variety of Keresan.

Laguna Development Corporation

The Laguna Development Corporation; founded in 1998, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Pueblo of Laguna. Laguna Development is a federally chartered tribal corporation formed under Section 17 of the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act.

The company develops and operates the tribe's retail-based outlets, including two travel centers, a supermarket, a convenience store, an RV park, an arcade, a Superette and three casinos on the Pueblo of Laguna reservation that spans Cibola County, Bernalillo, Valencia and Sandoval counties.

Several Laguna Pueblo businesses are along tourist and truck route corridors that attract New Mexico tourists, long- and short-haul truck drivers, and residents of nearby Albuquerque. Other Laguna Development businesses provide basic services to local tribal communities.

Laguna Pueblo members

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ Pritzker 43
  3. ↑ Ellis, Florence Hawley (1979). Handbook of American Indians. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. pp. 438–441. ISBN 978-0874741971.
  4. ↑ T.J. Ferguson and Barbara J. Mills, 2012, Supplemental Report: Archaeological Sites on the Laguna Indian Reservation. Unpublished paper on file at the Pueblo of Laguna Tribal Historic Preservation Office.
  5. ↑ "Pueblo of Laguna-owned contractor is 15th largest in Iraq : Iraq War : Albuquerque Tribune". Abqtrib.com. 2007-11-30. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  6. ↑ see "Welcome to the Pueblo of Laguna"
  7. ↑ "Rio San Jose". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
  8. ↑ Balduin Molhausen (1858). Diary of a Journey from the Mississippi to the Coasts of the Pacific V2, with a United States Government Expedition (1858). Jane Sinnett (translator). London: Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans, & Roberts. p. 60.
  9. ↑ "Laguna Department of Education". Ldoe.org. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  10. ↑ Keleher and Chant 30–36

References

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