LAGUNA PUEBLO - “Mount Taylor was a gift from the Creator to protect and heal people,” said Virgil Reeder of Laguna Pueblo. “Our elders taught us that the mountain was a source of strength and the location for everything that we needed.”

Reeder grew up hearing stories of the history of the mountain and its significance to the Laguna people and later taught a course in “winter stories” at New Mexico State University - Grants. Many of these stories revolve around the Lagunas' relationship with Mount Taylor.

“We didn't have TV or radio when I was a kid, so we'd sit around the wood stove during the winter months and listen to the elders tell stories. My grandmother sat on a sheepskin rug as she taught us about our people and the mountain,” Reeder related. “Once an old man, who was a clansman, came to visit us and he encouraged all my relatives to tell their stories and give advice to the kids.”

This older relative told the story of the creation of Laguna and told Reeder that, when sheep were introduced to the tribe, stories were passed on during lambing and shearing time.

According to Reeder, an elder said that the Laguna people came from the north side of Mount Taylor and the Creator told them that the mountain would be protected. In explaining the Laguna origin story, Reeder said, “The Laguna people came from under Arrow Bay when Mother Earth was ready for them. A young boy went to the Creator, who told him to shoot an arrow into the earth to create a hole for the people to emerge.

The hole wasn't big enough, so the Creator called the badger to use his claws to make it larger.”

According to the story, the people then emerged from the earth and looked in all directions and the Creator told them that the mountain was his/her gift to them. The Creator said, “Look to the mountain, the mesa, the desert, the sky and the moon…all of these are pure and I'll be wherever you are standing.”

The Laguna people soon learned of the healing power of Mount Taylor when they discovered medicinal plants in various places on the mountain, according to the history.

Reeder stated that the town of Paguate got its name from Laguna lore. “The name describes the people coming down off the mesa,” he said.

Other stories describe the coming of the Spanish and the Anglos. “We were told that men would come from the south, who could not be killed with arrows (a reference to Spanish armor). A spiritual man holding a cross would lead them, but the men in back would carry long knives,” Reeder said. “These people burned our fields and killed our elders.”

Another prophetic story centers around white people coming from the east, carrying a book in their left hands and a destructive staff in their right hands.

“Originally we welcomed white people, but they began destroying us and the elders predicted that they would bring sickness (smallpox) and take our land,” Reeder said. “We tried to defend ourselves, but the invaders had guns and we didn't.”

The fallout for the Laguna people was devastating. “When the United States took over from the Mexicans, we were shut out of Mount Taylor and weren't allowed to go there for our medicine. The new fences kept us out and we were pushed aside,” Reeder explained.

He is resentful of claims by Hispanics and whites that “the mountain is ours.” Reeder has both Hispanic and white relatives. “My feelings don't have anything to do with race because the elders said that the wildlife and forests are important to all people, but we deserve to be considered too,” he explained.

In the Laguna worldview anything that comes from the mountain, including Christmas trees and game, has a healing power. “We always thank the mountain and the Creator when something is provided for us from Mount Taylor,” he concluded.

Reeder stated that his opinions are not necessarily the same as those of tribal government. “I don't speak for the Pueblo, only myself,” he said.