About 50 miles west of Albuquerque, a red-and-white checkered diner sits beside a small gas station along the historic Route 66.
Around lunchtime, the dining room fills with travelers, truck drivers and local families waiting for one of New Mexico’s best-known burgers, the Laguna Burger. A half-pound burger stacked with melted cheese and roasted green chile, balanced by crisp lettuce, tomato, red onion, and pickles. This order is not complete without the crispy, fresh hand-cut fries.
For many visitors, it’s simply a memorable meal on a classic American road trip. For the Pueblo of Laguna, it’s something much deeper.
“Laguna Burger represents something powerful,” says Ryan Riley, a corporate director for Laguna Development Corporation, which owns and operates the restaurant. “It demonstrates that Indigenous communities are not simply part of America’s past. We are active participants in its present and future.”
That message carries particular weight this year as Route 66 celebrates its centennial and the United States commemorates its 250th birthday.
Often called the Mother Road, Route 66 crosses through more than two dozen tribal nations. Yet Indigenous communities are overlooked in stories about one of America’s most iconic highways.
“American history is most complete when all voices are included,” Riley says. “Native nations have always been part of the economic history of this country.”
Indigenous communities, however, are often portrayed as historical attractions rather than thriving places where people continue to live, work and build businesses, Riley says.
Long before Laguna Burger opened, Laguna families grilled hamburgers topped with roasted green chile during Pueblo feast days. In 2005, that tradition inspired the first Laguna Burger. Today, the business has expanded into multiple locations across New Mexico while remaining owned and operated by the Pueblo of Laguna.
Just down the road from the original restaurant, another Pueblo-owned business continues a much older tradition of welcoming travelers.
Before Route 66 crossed the Southwest, there was a railroad. Before the railroad, there were Indigenous trade routes connecting Pueblo communities across the region.
Those histories are reflected inside the Indian Arts Center, where shelves display Pueblo pottery, jewelry and artwork, while a small kitchen window serves fresh frybread and Indian tacos.
Owner Dominick Quiroz says tourism has long been part of Laguna Pueblo life.
“People still stop off on the road to look at our beautiful pottery, jewelry and also the scenic route,” Quiroz says. “It’s so beautiful.”
Quiroz recalls seeing an old photograph that has stayed with him for years: a Laguna woman handing pottery to travelers from a railroad car.
“That has always inspired me to continue the tourism here in Laguna Pueblo and at the Indian Arts Center,” he said.
Together, the Indian Arts Center and Laguna Burger introduce visitors to Laguna Pueblo. But for many tribal members, they also represent home.
Shawn Spruce, a Laguna Pueblo citizen who now lives in North Carolina, makes Laguna Burger one of his first stops whenever he returns to New Mexico. He remembers sitting outside the restaurant years ago with a close friend, watching traffic pass along Interstate 40. That friend has since died, but the restaurant still brings those memories back.
“That’s kind of the spirit and nostalgia and the personal connection that I share with Laguna Burger,” he said.
For him, the restaurant’s signature green chile cheeseburger is inseparable from those memories.
“There’s nowhere else in the world you can get a New Mexico green chile cheeseburger like that, with a Pueblo kind of vibe to it,” he says. “It tastes like something somebody made in their own kitchen.”
As travelers continue making their way down historic Route 66, Laguna Burger offers more than a popular roadside meal. It reminds visitors that Indigenous people have always been part of the story of the American West – not only preserving history, but continuing to shape it every day.
