Soaking in the sun — and the history — of Palm Springs - The Boston Globe (2024)

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — High above the city, the Indian Canyons are a place far removed from the bustle below. Down there, golfers flock to impossibly green lawns, visitors bask in the city’s legendary sunshine, and mid-century modern architecture fans gawk at homes once owned by the likes of Frank Sinatra. Up here, the landscape is scrubby and spare, the buildings are primitive, and the quiet is almost eerie. This is where the earliest residents of Palm Springs lived, sheltering in homes built from native palm tree fronds and drawing precious water from streams.

So it was quite a surprise to come across a miniature replica of Indian Canyons smack dab in the middle of downtown Palm Springs, surrounded by banks and shops. The Oasis Trail, with its pebbly stream edged by Washingtonia filifera (California fan palms) is part of the new Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza (visionaguacaliente.com/culturalplaza), which opened in November. Built above the ancient Agua Caliente hot mineral spring, the complex also includes a 73,000-square-foot spa and a museum that traces the history of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, one of nine federally recognized tribes that have made this area their home for millennia.

“We love Elvis and Frank Sinatra, but our tribe has thousands of years of history here,” says Reid Milanovich, chairman of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. “This is us, telling our own story. So many longtime residents know of the Tribe but don’t necessarily know the Tribe.”

The plaza’s triumph is in the careful way the beliefs, crafts, and culture of the Tribe are incorporated into every element of the overall experience. A stone circle in front of the museum and spa covers the natural hot spring — 1.5 miles below — that has been sacred to the Agua Caliente since the Tribe began. In the museum lobby, floor tiles and walls incorporate traditional Cahuilla basket designs. Sound is an important element throughout the museum: sounds of water, birds, and the voices of tribal members on video screens sharing their personal journeys. One room showcases some of the artifacts unearthed during excavation for the project, some more than 8,000 years old.

Twenty-two private soaking tubs are the centerpiece of The Spa at Séc-he (thespaatseche.com/), which means “the sound of boiling water” in the Cahuilla language. The 105-degree mineral-rich water, flowing at 24 gallons a minute, is considered to be unlike any other mineral hot spring in the world, said Kate Anderson, director of public relations for the Tribe. In addition to the mineral water, the spa uses a variety of desert traditions and plants in treatments, including local botanicals, indigenous herbs, red clay, aloe, and blue sage.

While the Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza provides the newest and most comprehensive educational experience, Palm Springs offers other opportunities to learn about Native American history in the Coachella Valley.

A visit to Indian Canyons (indian-canyons.com/indian_canyons) is a must. This tribal land includes three distinct canyons, some 60 miles of hiking trails, and over 2,000 Washingtonia filifera, the only palm trees native to the California desert. At Palm Canyon, we descended a moderately graded path to the canyon floor, an oasis of the distinctive tall palms distinguished by their “skirts” that can reach the ground. The thatch-like skirts provided shelter for animals and an important building material for early inhabitants. A 3-mile loop trail takes the hiker out of the shade of the palm trees and onto the ridge that overlooks the canyon.

Andreas Canyon is all about the rock. An easy, 1-mile trail passes stone grinding mortar rocks and striking striated rock formations that loom over the path, like so many giant books tipped sideways on a shelf. In Murray Canyon, a 5-mile trail, rated moderate, ends at the Seven Sisters Waterfall.

“We don’t inherit the land from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children,” says Adrienne Edmondson, tribal educator at Temalpakh Farm (temalpakhfarm.com/). Run by the Augustine Band of the Cahuilla Indians, the farm is renowned for its smoothies, made with local dates. They have a smoky, nutty flavor that comes from grinding the pods dropped by mesquite trees. But the real story behind the farm, which sits on a former dump, is its commitment to sustainability. In addition to growing organic crops and running a farm market, the Tribe also operates an education center. Its goal, Edmondson said, is to provide an interactive learning experience for people of all ages about the Cahuilla people, organic farming, environmental sciences, and sustainability.

The education center is filled with books and materials for all age groups, such as wooden tulips on children’s tables that open to show all the parts of the flower from the root to the blossom. The plan, said Edmondson, who took over the center at the end of last year, is to invite school groups to learn in the classroom “and then go out and get their hands dirty.” Seminars for adults and cooking demos are also on her radar, as well as tours for the general public.

Cabot’s Pueblo Museum (cabotsmuseum.org/) in nearby Desert Hot Springs is a home and gallery built by Cabot Yerxa over a period of 20 years, starting in 1913. His philosophy was to reuse and recycle, and the building is an extraordinary example of reclaimed building materials — beams, telephone poles, even straightened nails. Yerxa’s other interest was Hopi baskets and pottery, and many lovely examples are on display. Visitors join a docent for a one-hour guided tour.

Both the Morongo Band of Mission Indians (morongonation.org/) in Banning and the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians (fantasyspringsresort.com/cbmi) in Indio hold annual powwows, typically in the fall. In addition to dance competitions and drum contests, these colorful festivals feature Native American foods and crafts.

Ellen Albanese can be reached at ellen.albanese@gmail.com.