Abstract:
This paper analyzes the temporal understanding of the Laguna Pueblo Native American tribe. Unlike the dominant Western tradition that conceives of time in a linear, human-centric form, the Laguna embrace a plurality of time, with each individual(human, animal, or other) and aspect of life occupying their own unique, subjective timeline. This plurality of time and the infinite intersections that occur as everything interacts results in a web of time, rather than a straight line. Thus, I refer to the Laguna conception of time as reticular temporality. I argue that reticular temporality informs every aspect of Laguna culture, including perception of selfhood, epistemology, and an all-encompassing communal sense of being. These three areas guide the focus of the three primary chapters of this thesis. Although recorded knowledge about the Laguna Pueblo is limited, I will primarily analyze the culture through the literary work of Leslie Marmon Silko. Specifically, I will examine Silko’s novel, Ceremony, as well as Storyteller, a compilation that consists of short stories, poems, letters, memoir excerpts, photos, and more. Although these two works provide a well-rounded view of Laguna culture and storytelling tradition, this analysis will also be supplemented by Silko’s essays and interviews, as well as contemporary Indigenous Studies research. Furthermore, I will draw on research concerning nationalism, colonialism, temporality, linguistic/literary form, Native epistemologies, and more. This thesis highlights a severely under-studied culture, and makes a claim for reticular temporality’s undeniable influence on the Laguna worldview.