“Since time immemorial” is how the Cahuilla describe their place in history. From steep canyon trails to casinos, golf resorts and well springs bubbling up from deep within the earth, all around the Coachella Valley are reminders of the resilience of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.
Since its opening last November, the Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza has stood as a symbol of this resilience. Situated in the heart of downtown Palm Springs, the state-of-the-art facility encompasses a museum, an outdoor plaza, the Spa at Séc-he and the Oasis Trail.
The 5.8-acre campus sits on hallowed ground—at the site of the original Cahuilla hot springs, across from the first Agua Caliente casino, It’s a monument to the tribe’s ancient heritage, wrapped in strikingly modern design. It may be the most important project the Agua Caliente have ever built, said Reid Milanovich, chairman of the Tribal Council of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.
“When you go into that museum, you’re seeing pictures only of Agua Caliente,” said Milanovich. “The videos, pictures and the voices you hear, those are all Agua Caliente people. We wanted that. It’s not the Smithsonian—we have great relationships with the Smithsonian; we’re actually an affiliate of theirs. But it’s not them. It’s not another museum, or another company telling our story. It’s us.”
Every aspect of its design is carefully wrought to reflect Cahuilla culture. The museum is designed in tandem with the Séc-he spa, with the buildings appointed to resemble the reeds of a basket in mid-production.
The Gathering Plaza is a public square of sorts—quiet and serene, until bird singers and dancers fill it with music and movement on special occasions. The Oasis Trail winds around the perimeter of the museum, providing a walkway that invokes in the idea of the Indian Canyons, replete with a waterfall and a flowing brook. Native plants figure significantly throughout the plaza.
Milanovich points out images of the earliest Cahuilla bath houses on display at The Spa at Séc-he. The hot mineral springs that once fed those rough-hewn enterprises now power a world-class facility with 22 private mineral soaking tubs, two zero-sensory flotation pods, saunas, steam rooms, hot tubs and more.
Those sacred waters are inextricably linked to the Agua Caliente and the tribe’s development in the city.
“We’re very intertwined with the city of Palm Springs,” said Milanovich. “The very first bathhouse was where we’re sitting right now. That was the first tourist attraction over 130 years ago, in the 1890s. We wanted visitors to the area to experience sacred water. That hot spring water is the centerpiece of this cultural plaza, and of the tribe. It’s something that our ancestors have been soaking in for years.”
Milanovich said a spa session is key to understanding the Cahuilla. (Because of this, Agua Caliente staff provided me with one-time guest pass for a salon service and to “take the waters.”)
“Séc-he” is the Cahuilla word for “the sound of boiling water.” The hot mineral soak is a bearable 105 degrees; it and the other lavish amenities are definitely a treat.
“The plans grew to where we are today, with the idea of allowing our members to soak in that water for physical healing powers and mental healing powers,” Milanovich said. “This is a facility that allows not just our tribal members to sit in water that our ancestors had for thousands of years, but also the community and guests from around the world. So the focal point is always going to be about water, including in the museum.”
A project worth the delay
The Agua Caliente broke ground on construction of the Cultural Plaza in May 2018 after years of planning, with plans to open in early 2020. But excavation was halted almost immediately, as just two months in, more evidence of the Cahuilla’s enduring roots was unearthed.
“About 10 to 12 feet down, they noticed what looked like a hearth feature, remnants of a human-made fire,” said Kate Anderson, director of public relations for ACCM.
Anderson said cultural monitors are typically present at excavations of lands with known Indigenous significance. The site was declared an archaeological find, and the work of delicately sifting through tons of earth began. The tribe poured over the site for several months, recovering thousands of artifacts—some carbon-dated back 8,000 years. Some of those items, including decorative shells and projectile points used in hunting, are on display in the new museum’s permanent galleries.
Inside the museum, technology takes visitors on a journey into the past. Visitors can view an animated version of the Cahuilla’s creation story, and sit inside a ceremonial hut and hear the voices of Cahuilla elders as they speak of lost traditions.
A three-dimensional diorama presents a changing tableau of displacement and migration, from the earliest days of life in the canyons to the advent of the railroad and the adverse effects of the gold rush. The display ends with the checkerboard map that divided land granted to the tribe with land taken by the Southern Pacific Railroad.
The museum doesn’t shy away from uncomfortable parts of Cahuilla history. “History is history. We can never go back and change history,” Milanovich said. “But absolutely, you can learn from that, and you can grow from it. So, there’s a sense of acknowledging what happened, but not dwelling on it.”
A movement to honor Indigenous history
Verlon Gould is a member of the Lemhi and Eastern Shoshone tribe. The Idaho resident visited the Cultural Museum in April with his multi-generational family in tow. He said that Indigenous history needs to be shared with future generations—even if it makes people uncomfortable to learn certain aspects, including the oppression tribes suffered at the hands of white settlers and the U.S. government.
“My feeling is it does help to know exactly what happened,” said Gould. “It’s hard to think about the past and not feel hardened by it. But … for the younger people, it’s good for them to see that we’re able to overlook those awful things that happened. It’s not their fault. We shouldn’t make them feel guilty about it, but we should let them learn it and not repeat it.”
In January, representatives of the Osage Nation met with the Agua Caliente Tribal Council and other members of the tribe. They exchanged gifts and renewed their commitment to telling their own stories.
Milanovich said other tribes are taking up this charge. The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians is close to completion on its new museum, and other tribes are building museums as well.
“We try to collaborate as much as possible,” Milanovich said. “We invite other tribal leaders and other tribes to see what we’re doing and to get ideas.”
What the Cahuilla and other Native tribes hope to share about Indigenous life is a simple message, Milanovich said: “The message is truth. This is who we are. This is our history. This is where we are today. This is where we want to be in the future. When guests and visitors come from all over the world and learn about the tribe and the history, let them feel how they want to feel. This is what happened. This is our story, this culture. This is what is important to us. That’s the message of truth, told by us. When we share our culture, it really helps protect our culture,” he said.
Gould said the museum can serve an inspiration to Native people everywhere. “What’s been created from the sacred springs, that draws people in; it’s a magnet,” said Gould. “So when you find out how you can share that, it’s important to abide by it.”
Brenda Pree came to the museum for the first time in May. She brought a friend who was visiting from Georgia. Pree, who works for the city of Palm Springs, said she got an education she didn’t know she needed.
“To get the knowledge and understanding of the history of what has taken place, it was very interesting,” said Pree. “To see the past, present and future of how this land was formed, who owned it, how they were moved off of it, how they have survived even after that … it was very moving to see how well the Cahuilla maintained and thrived in this area, where they actually started.”
Kwanda McMillan said it was eye-opening to learn about how the Cahuilla took agency over their culture, even while choosing to let some parts fade away. She was especially moved by a story about tribal members deciding to burn down their ceremonial house in the 1950s after the death of Albert Patencio, marking the end of more than a century of male Patencios serving as chief.
“Their decision to burn down the ceremonial house, the young lady in the video said she wished that wasn’t done,” McMillan said. “I mean, it’s still (a loss) from a historical perspective, because it ended something—but at the same time, that may be the point. They took ownership of their culture, and they decided that it was time for that part of it (to die).”
McMillan said keeping oral histories alive and passing them on from one generation to the next is vital for cultures that have been marginalized. “With the museum, it’s like they are putting pride back into the culture,” she said.
Milanovich echoed that sentiment. From its inception, the Cultural Museum was conceived as a way to look forward while preserving knowledge about the past. Oral histories were being lost, and there was an urgency to document what remained, to showcase the Cahuilla way for future generations. Seeing the museum come to fruition from a vision that started almost 30 years ago was “incredibly inspiring,” he said.
“We have a very involved membership, including our elders who we consulted with. They provide us with guidance, with context and so much history,” Milanovich said. “To be able to walk with our elders—with any tribal members, really—through both the museum and the spa, it’s a feeling. I can’t really explain it. I’m just honored to be walking with them.
“It came to life. There was a time when I couldn’t believe it’s actually here. We did it. Not the Tribal Council, not myself—we, as a tribe.”
The Agua Caliente Cultural Museum is located at 140 N. Indian Canyon Drive, in Palm Springs, and is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. Admission is $8 for Coachella Valley residents with ID, with other discounts. Learn more at accmuseum.org.
The Spa at Séc-he, next door at 200 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way, is open daily from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Learn more at thespaatseche.com.
Summer Sundays
The Agua Caliente Cultural Museum is hosting a series of community programs called Summer Sundays. The free arts-and-craft events will be held June 30, July 14 and Aug. 4, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. An RSVP to programs@accmuseum.org is required, and free same-day museum admission is included.
Sunday, June 30: Animal Prints—Visitors will learn the Cahuilla names of local desert animals and make their own art-print animal tracks. Observation stations will teach about the animals’ tracks and mannerisms.
Sunday, July 14: Agua Caliente Games—Visitors will learn the rules and about the materials used to play games like the “stave and coyote game” from Agua Caliente and Cahuilla culture.
Sunday, Aug. 4: Weaving Patterns—Cultural educator Lorene Sisquoc (Fort Sill Apache/Cahuilla) will teach visitors techniques to complete a step-by-step reed basket project. Visitors will view coiled Cahuilla baskets on display.
Currently on display
In the museum’s changing gallery, the exhibition For a Love of His People: The Photography of Horace Poolaw showcases photographs by Horace Poolaw (Kiowa, 1906-1984). Poolaw began documenting American Indian subjects in the mid-1920s and continued for the next 50 years. The exhibit runs through December 2024.
