P.O. Box 194
Laguna, NM 87026
505-552-6654
The Laguna Pueblo is also known as the Pueblo of Laguna. In the Western Keres, or the one of the dialects spoken by the Pueblo peoples, the tribe is also known as the Kawaik. The Laguna Pueblo is a Native American tribe belonging to the Pueblo people, or people of the Southwestern United States. They are located in the west-central portion of New Mexico in the United States. The name Laguna is of Spanish origin. It literally means lagoon and was derived from the lake which was located on the tribe's reservation area. The genuine name of the tribe, however, based on the Keresan language, is Kawaik. The current population of the tribe based on the enrollment of members is more than 7,000. It is then considered to be the largest Keresan speaking tribe. The Mission San Jose de Laguna, erected by the Spaniards at the old pueblo which is now known as the Old Laguna was finished on the 4th of July in 1699. The Laguna Pueblo people are known to be intellectual. They value intellectual activities as well as their undying love for education. The scholarship program offered in the tribe is being patronized by several members and has led to a number of well-educated Lagunas. The Uranium mining in their ancestral land has contributed greatly on the scholarship program not to mention the donations of the other tribal members. Aside from higher education, skilled labor learning schools are also very much functional in the lives of the Laguna members. The Laguna Pueblo people are known to love baseball above all other sports. They are also skilled potters and many of the masterpieces of today are made by the Laguna Pueblo people. The Laguna Construction Co. is owned by the Laguna Pueblo. It stands today as one of the largest United States contractors in Iraq. Its construction contracts are more than $300 million since the year 2004 and in addition to their primary headquarters located in the pueblo, the Laguna Construction Co. still has some other offices located in Albuquerque, San Antonio, in Texas, Houston, Baghdad and in Amman, Jordan. The Laguna Construction recently, in 2007, employed an additional of seventy five people majority of who belong to the Laguna Pueblo. Together with the Acoma Pueblo, the Laguna Pueblo maintains its strong external ties which include location, language and shared high school. The tribe also boasts of their stable Tribal Law System. The Laguna Pueblo is known to have partici[ated as a "weed and Seed" tribe. They are one of the fee tribes whom the Department of Justice Program have studied the enforcement of their law and the effectiveness of the social programs on the Native American lands. The tribe's reservation is actually in portions of four counties. The counties are the Cibola, the Sandoval, Bernalillo and the Valencia. The counties also include six other villages namely the Encinal, the Laguna, Mesita, Paguate, Paraje, and the Seama. The total population of the tribe, according to the 2000 Census data is 3, 185. The tribe's reservation is forty five miles or seventy five kilometers on the west of the city of Albuquerque. The total land area of their tribal lands is 2, 013.008 kilometers squared. In the eighteenth century, several tribal members adopted the surname Riley which was of Irish origin.
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