Agua Caliente Cultural Museum Palm Springs, California

Street Address

219 South Palm Canyon Drive
Palm Springs, CA 92262

Phone: 760-323-0151
Fax: 760-320-0350
Web: www.accmuseum.org

Museum Hours

Seasonal Hours (Labor Day weekend - Memorial Day weekend):
Wednesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Sunday, 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Summer Hours (Memorial Day weekend - Labor Day Weekend):
Friday and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Sunday, 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Closed Monday and Tuesday

Admissions

Free

Description

The Agua Caliente Cultural Museum is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization interpreting the history and culture of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and other Cahuilla peoples.

For the past fourteen years we have worked to preserve and revive aspects of our traditional culture through our Museum, located in Palm Springs. With limited space and a small professional staff, the Museum presents exhibitions, lectures, films, tours, traditional skills workshops and educational outreach programs for students in local schools.

As interest in the rich cultural heritage of the Cahuilla has grown among our own people and others across the country, the need for an expanded, state-of-the-art museum has become clear -- so we are building a new Agua Caliente Cultural Museum.

As we move forward with our plans for a new museum, we are committed to the belief that knowledge is a tool for empowerment, autonomy and the proper stewardship of our land and culture. Just as it was the role of the tribal elders to hold and pass on our traditions, this world-class museum will serve as a new kind of tribal elder.

Preserving the past, documenting our present and nourishing our culture for our future, the museum will be a place to teach new generations and share our Cahuilla history and culture with others.

Artifacts Collections

The Museum's Southern California basketry collection, with over 400 items, is a wonderful collection of the works of Cahuilla basketweavers and their neighboring tribes. It is an excellent resource for comparative study of styles, techniques and materials.

Cahuilla ceramics include ollas, cooking pots, pendants, and pipes. Shell beads, bone tools, and numerous stone utensils for food preparation such as manos, metates, mortars, and pestles are represented in the collections. Historic period artifacts from early habitation sites include items from irrigation ditches, cans and bottles, china and buttons.

The Tahquitz Canyon Archaeological Collection contains over 50,000 artifacts from the oldest and largest village site and is one of the most extensive excavation projects in California. The collection includes all field notes and photographs of the projects as well as the ethnographic and ethnohistoric reports. The Ruth Dunham Shepard Collection has extensive artifact material from the Coachella Valley and accompanying field notes. Additional archaeological materials from various locations are also included.

Library

The library's collection focuses on Cahuilla Indians and other indigenous cultures, including children's books written and illustrated by Native Americans
Access: General Public
Appointment required: True

Staff

Michael Hammond, Executive Director

Bill Adams, Director of Operations

Ursula Cripps, Museum Interpreter

Rita Dickey, Museum Interpreter

Jon Fletcher, Archivist

Michele Hedgecock, Education Administrative Assistant

Theresa Hooks, Museum Interpreter

Debora Iyall, Outreach Assistant

Jessica Murray, Acting Director of Development

Ginger Ridgway, Curator/Director of Programs



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