Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza and the Oasis Trail The Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza in downtown Palm Springs will be a cultural heritage destination where Tribal members and guests celebrate the history, culture, traditions and modern life of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.
This 5.8-acre complex, opening later this year, features the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum with an education garden and The Spa at Séc-he, a state-of-the-art spa fed by the ancient Agua Caliente Hot Mineral Spring.
They are joined by the Gathering Plaza and Oasis Trail, which is activated with flowing water, Washingtonia filifera palm trees (the only palm tree native to the California desert), and stunning rock formations that capture the essence of the Indian Canyons and ahquitz Canyon, the Agua Caliente people’s ancestral home.
While the Plaza connects ancient and contemporary life, the Oasis Trail reflects the sequestered nature of the canyons — water-filled areas that provided the ancestors
of the Agua Caliente people with cooler living conditions in the hot desert summers.
The Plaza will be a peaceful place to ponder and reflect on the place the Agua Caliente people call home. The presence of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians in the area now known as Palm Springs precedes any written calendar, record or memory.
The Tribe’s stories have been passed down for thousands of years, connecting the past and present. Their stories are told through bird songs, which narrate how the Agua Caliente people migrated throughout the region until landing at the place they call home. The Agua Caliente Tribe is one of nine federally- recognized Cahuilla tribes in Southern California.
The original Cahuilla territory extends from the Borrego Desert in the south, to the San Bernardino Mountains in the north, and toward the Colorado River to the east and includes the city of Riverside to the west. The Agua Caliente Indian Reservation was established in 1876 and expanded in 1877.
The Reservation includes land in what is now Palm springs, Cathedral City and Rancho Mirage. Today, the Tribe has more than 500 members and is one of the largest employers in the Coachella Valley with its Tribal government, three casinos, a resort hotel and spa, and attractions such as the Indian Canyons, Tahquitz Canyon, Indian Canyons Golf Resort, and the new Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza, which includes a cultural museum and The Spa at Séc-he.
The Tribe is steward to more than 31 ,500 acres, which includes the world’s largest Washingtonia filifera palm oasis and thousands of acres of mountains, streams, and bighorn sheep habitat. The Tribe’s stories have been passed down for generations throughout thousands of years, connecting the past and present.
For more information visit visionaguacaliente.com
