Pueblo of Laguna

Laguna wrote its government down before most Native nations did. An 1877 council drafted rules with Walter Marmon, an Ohio surveyor who had married into the pueblo, sitting on it; traditionalists objected to the new ways, and in 1879 a group left for Isleta. In 1880 his brother Robert became governor, the first non-Indian to hold the office in any Keresan pueblo. The written constitution came in 1908, one of the first among Native nations, and was rewritten in 1949, 1958 and 1984, shifting power from the governor toward the council.

What the plaque says

Official Scenic Historic Marker Pueblo of Laguna Keresan - speaking refugees from Santo Domingo, Acoma, Cochití, and other pueblos founded Laguna after the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 and the Spanish reconquest of 1692. Named by the Spaniards for a marshy lake to the west, the pueblo still occupies its original hilltop site today.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Acoma Sky City — 15 mi
  Haak'u, the village on a sandstone mesa west of Albuquerque, seen only on the pueblo's own tours, with a mission whose roof beams were carried on foot from Mount Taylor.

More markers nearby

• Pueblo of Laguna — steps away
• San José de la Laguna Mission — steps away
• Susie Rayos Marmon — steps away
• San José de la Laguna Mission — steps away