Reid D. Milanovich, Chairman
Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians
Agua Caliente Casino Cathedral City – Cathedral City, CA; Agua Caliente Casino Palm Springs – Palm Springs, CA; Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa Rancho Mirage – Rancho Mirage, CA
aguacalientecasinos.com
aguacaliente.org
CHALLENGES/REWARDS: President Biden signed into law a series of bills to restore tribal stewardship of sacred lands and ensure that federal land management laws respect tribal sovereignty. The Agua Caliente Land Exchange Fee to Trust Confirmation Act will put more that 2,500 acres of land in the San Jacinto Mountains into trust for the Agua Caliente Tribe to further conservation efforts and practice consistent forest management. According to U.S. Rep. Dr. Raul Ruiz, who wrote and championed the House bill, “This legislation fulfills an agreement between the federal government and the tribe and will bolster conservation of local lands, help protect our environment, and honor the federal government’s trust responsibility to tribal nations.”
PROMOTING LEADERSHIP: From the 1800’s through today, the Agua Caliente leadership signifies the trajectory of a thriving and prosperous tribal government. Since 1955, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians has elected tribal members to oversee governmental affairs and economic ventures. It is this legacy of leadership that inspires us to aim for excellence in everything we do. Our Agua Caliente Casinos properties in Cathedral City, Palm Springs, and Rancho Mirage, where Agua Caliente Fuel is also located, exemplify the best-in-class that our business operations leadership bring to the table 24/7/365. Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa Rancho Mirage is the only property in California that has been awarded the Forbes Four-Star rating for three different locations within the resort hotel with its Sunstone Spa earning the Forbes Five-Star award consecutively since 2021.
FUTURE PROJECTS/INITIATIVES: Sharing our culture is a priority for the Agua Caliente Tribe. This year, we have a new venue to support this: the Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza, a 5.8-acre complex featuring the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum and education garden, opening later this year, and our newly opened The Spa at Séc-he, a state-of-the-art spa fed by the sacred 12,000-year-old waters of the Agua Caliente Hot Mineral Spring. They are joined by the Gathering Plaza and Oasis Trail that capture the essence of the Indian Canyons and Tahquitz Canyon, our ancestral homeland. The cultural plaza is one of the most important achievements in our tribe’s history. It allows us to share and celebrate our culture and educate visitors about our history and who we are as a people. For us, it’s a dream come true that has been in the making for more than 30 years. When we share our culture, we preserve our culture.