Long-awaited Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza and Museum set to open on Nov. 3

More than five years after breaking ground, the long-awaited Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza and Museum is planning a grand opening to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Nov. 3.

The 48,000-square-foot museum dedicated to the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians will feature a changing gallery, educational classroom, teaching garden and meeting/event space. The Creation Migration Theater will present a 12-minute, 360-degree animation of the tribe's creation and history.

“The Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza provides an incredible opportunity for us to share and celebrate our history, culture, and traditions with this community and visitors from around the world,” Tribal Chairman Reid D. Milanovich said in a statement. “Each federally recognized tribe throughout this country has a distinct culture that includes traditions, language, historic clothing, and housing styles as well as historical food and medicine preparations. We want to share our culture with visitors through our authentic voice. This is our story, in our own voice. We are here today just like we have been since time immemorial.”

The tribe broke ground on the museum in 2018. The plaza is located at 140 N Indian Canyon Dr. in downtown Palm Springs. Admission prices will be announced at a later date.

"This is about breaking the stereotypes and the misconceptions people have on Native American People," said then-Agua Caliente Chairman Jeff Grubbe at the 2018 groundbreaking for the museum. "We didn't all ride on horses and live in teepees ... We all have our distinctive differences, and we want to share that and show that to people."

Construction on the museum was originally slated to finish in 2020. Kate Anderson, a spokeswoman for the tribe, told The Desert Sun in January the completion was delayed by the COVID pandemic. In addition, she said, the location is the site of a large Indigenous archeological artifact recovery project. Shortly after construction began, the tribe paused construction for several months while thousands of artifacts dating back more than 8,000-plus years were recovered. Those artifacts will be on display at the cultural center.

However, the 40,000-square-foot "The Spa at Séc-he" at the Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza opened in April featuring 22 private mineral baths, 15 treatment rooms, a cryotherapy chamber, two float pod suites, a boutique fitness area, a "grounding" room, an acoustic wellness lounge, tranquility garden, menthol dry sauna, eucalyptus steam room, two therapy salt caves, a resort-style mineral pool with four Jacuzzis, luxury cabanas, a full-service salon with scalp treatment beds, a cafe and a poolside bar with food service.

Both Palm Springs' and the tribe's identities and history are intertwined with the flows. The city took its name from the springs and the adjacent native palm trees, and "agua caliente," a Spanish phrase that was imposed on the area, means "hot water."

Design inspiration for the Spa and Cultural Plaza is rooted in Agua Caliente traditions such as basket weaving, pottery (ollas) and botanical elements native to the tribe's reservation.

Brian Blueskye covers arts and entertainment for the Desert Sun. He can be reached at brian.blueskye@desertsun.com or on Twitter at @bblueskye.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza and Museum in Palm Springs to open Nov. 3