Laguna Pueblo

"Kawaik" redirects here. For the village in Iran, see Kawaik, Iran.
Laguna Pueblo

Laguna Mission
Nearest city Albuquerque, New Mexico
Area 108 acres (44 ha)
Built 1699
Architectural style Other, Pueblo
NRHP Reference # 73001154[1]
Added to NRHP June 19, 1973
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: Kawaik) 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. The real Keresan name of the tribe is Kawaik. The population of the tribe exceeds 7,000 enrolled members, making it the largest Keresan-speaking tribe. Mission San José de la Laguna was erected by the Spanish at the old pueblo (now Old Laguna), finished around July 4, 1699.

The Laguna people 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.[3]

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, at 35°02′15″N 107°15′03″W / 35.03750°N 107.25083°W / 35.03750; -107.25083, 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).[4]

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.[5] The laguna or lake was historically much larger than the present time and hosted waterfowl of many kinds, including ducks, geese and swans.[6] 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,[7] 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 speak a Keresan language.

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. ↑ "Pueblo of Laguna-owned contractor is 15th largest in Iraq : Iraq War : Albuquerque Tribune". Abqtrib.com. 2007-11-30. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  4. ↑ see "Welcome to the Pueblo of Laguna"
  5. ↑ "Rio San Jose". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
  6. ↑ 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.
  7. ↑ "Laguna Department of Education". Ldoe.org. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  8. ↑ Keleher and Chant 30–36

References

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