Museums - Agua Caliente Cultural Museum

The Agua Caliente Cultural Museum evolved out of an Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Committee and was established in 1991 as a tribal museum. It is governed by a volunteer board, two-thirds of which must be members of the local Native American tribe. Presently housed in a building owned by the city of Palm Springs, the Agua Caliente is embarking on the construction of a new 98,000-square-foot museum on tribal land. This state-of-the-art facility will espouse the culture and heritage of the Agua Caliente and other Cahuilla bands. The building is scheduled to open in late 2008.
A large portion of the museum’s 1,500 Native American objects are owned by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and are on permanent loan to the museum. Some objects have come from private donors. The collection focuses on Southern California basketry, Cahuilla ceramics, and Palm Springs archeological objects. Agua Caliente is a “story-based” museum. Exhibitions focus on the history and culture of the Cahuilla people and may or may not include items from the collection, about five percent of which is on display (though this will change significantly when the new building opens). Storage is accessible to tribal members and researchers by appointment.