Section 14: The Untold Story, the newest exhibit at the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum, explores the complicated history of a tract of land in the heart of downtown Palm Springs.
The square-mile location, and the people who have lived on Section 14, have been the subject of headlines since President Ulysses S. Grant signed the origin documents, making the land part of the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation in 1876.
In 1968, the Riverside Press-Enterprise won a Pulitzer Prize for reporting on the effects of the federal government’s guardianship of the tribe. A local group, Section 14 Survivors, made national news when it successfully sued the city of Palm Springs for reparations, due to the city’s part in forced evictions from the land in the 1950s and ‘60s.
With this new exhibit, the Agua Caliente are telling their side of story.
Section 14: The Untold Story features archival photographs, recordings, letters and government directives. While these artifacts lack a certain dynamism, the exhibit is essential viewing—you must stop and read to digest the racism, discrimination and, in some cases, rank cruelty found in these seemingly innocuous documents.
A new 16-minute film featuring testimony from tribal elders is the emotional heart and soul of the exhibit. In first-hand accounts, they tell of a Palm Springs before it became a vacation destination, when it was still a vast space where children skated by day, and walked in their pajamas to bathe at the tribe’s hot springs at night.
The hot springs, located in Section 14, were an early tourist destination—the unofficial center of the city. When the U.S. government established the transcontinental railroad line, it allowed the land to be divided and eventually developed. As the region grew, and “civilization” came to the doorstep, one elder remembers, the city wanted the valuable tribe-owned plots on Section 14. Tribal leaders made the decision to fight back and assert sovereignty over the land.
Reid Milanovich, chairman of the Cahuilla Band of Agua Caliente Indians Tribal Council, helped open the exhibit, in the museum’s Changing Gallery, in June. The Independent recently interviewed Milanovich regarding the impact of the exhibit.
Why was it important to bring the story of Section 14 forward now?
The issues surrounding Section 14 are well-known amongst our tribal members. The previous Agua Caliente Cultural Museum had a Section 14 exhibit that was actually displayed (in 2019) at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. The Smithsonian came out; they liked what they saw, and they brought it out to D.C. It was important at that time that the story be told, because it was such an important part of our history.
We’re very focused on presenting the facts of what happened and what was leading up to it. There’s so much to Section 14; it was important to us now to put some factual documents out there. As you saw, (the current exhibit) talks about the allotment process, and it talks about the conservatorship program. When guests come through, they get a better idea of the full picture of the events surrounding what went on during that time.
How did it happen that Section 14 had this confluence of people, as opposed to the other squares on the checkerboard? Was it the proximity to what was developing as downtown Palm Springs?
Section 14 was the original reservation established in 1876 by President Grant, just that one location. That was the original square mile. It wasn’t until one year later, by President (Rutherford B.) Hayes, that it was expanded into what it is today. I do think proximity had a factor in it, just because it is so central and such a major part of the downtown area. (As for) the reason why there was such a collection of people (living there), I can’t speak on behalf of the city, but to my understanding, it was that other non-whites were not welcomed, or they just didn’t have the means to afford to live on other sections within the city itself. On Section 14, they were welcomed onto the land.
“What is talked about in the exhibit was essentially a legal robbery of tribal members. It wasn’t until 1972 that Congress actually pulled that back and determined that was no longer needed. But that was after years and years and years of deliberation and tribal members fighting against the program.”
Reid Milanovich, chairman of the Cahuilla Band of Agua Caliente Indians Tribal Council, on the federal government’s conservatorship program
In the exhibit, the Bureau of Indian Affairs is shown making decisions that were not favorable to the native Indian community.
The BIA falls under the Department of the Interior, and was developed to aid and assist Native Americans. Unfortunately, there were laws that were written during that time that were unfavorable toward tribal members, and a prime example of that was a conservatorship program where it was legal for non-Indians to be assigned to tribal members to manage their affairs. What is talked about in the exhibit was essentially a legal robbery of tribal members. It wasn’t until 1972 that Congress actually pulled that back and determined that was no longer needed. But that was after years and years and years of deliberation and tribal members fighting against the program.
Some of the historic documents included in the exhibit were very emotional to take in. One of the things that was most affecting was a picture of a young child in the arms of a conservator; the notes said that the child was picking their allotment. What did that mean?
It was exactly what the picture was showing: a child picking out their allotment, but the conservator had the legal authority to actually move forward with it and to see that it was completed. So much of the issue is that what was going on was not right. You were seeing so many conservators taking advantage of tribal members … including young children, as you saw in the photo. It was very important that that photo was shown. You’re saying it affected you. We’re not trying to stir up drama; we’re showing this is what happened. So whether it’s dark or bright, it’s history. It needs to be shown.
The allotment process means that an individual tribal member has ownership over that piece of reservation. It’s still in trust status, meaning that it’s part of the reservation, but that individual member has an ownership in that piece. … That allotment (process) was designed to essentially terminate tribes, because the thought process was, “Well, these individual tribal members are going to sell off all of the land,” eventually meaning that there’s going to be no more reservation—therefore, no tribe and no tribal government.
As the museum approaches its two-year anniversary in November, why was now the time to bring this story forward?
It fills in the gaps to a story that is so well-known by our tribe and our tribal members, but not generally known to the general public. This gets out historical documents, and historical facts about events leading up to tribal members regaining control over their own affairs. It completes that overall message: (Although) the tribe and the tribal members were being taken advantage of, through decades, out of resilience and determination by tribal members, they were able to work their way out of it.
That story needs to be told, because it was a decades-long effort by so many tribal leaders and tribal members who at that time really didn’t have (the resources) to be able to do what they were doing. … Now, the tribe now is much more successful, and we do have more resources in order to put up such efforts. But at that time, when the tribe essentially had close to nothing, for them to do what they did is really extraordinary.
You saw monumental laws being changed, and that was because tribal members were standing up and saying, “This is not OK. We’re a sovereign government; we should have the ability, and we do have the ability and the authority to oversee our own lands.”
Section 14: The Untold Story will be on display at the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum, at 140 N. Indian Canyon Drive, through May 31, 2026. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. Admission is $10, with discounts. For more information, visit accmuseum.org.