Community Prepares For Tribal Leader’s Final Farewell
Gov. Jerry Brown and Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Palm Desert, will speak at today’s memorial service in Palm Springs for Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Chairman Richard Milanovich, who helped usher in an era of wealth and influence for California’s Indian tribes.
The 10 a.m. service will be followed by a noon “celebration of life” reception for Milanovich, who died March 11 at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage after a two-year battle with cancer. He was 69.
A private burial at an undisclosed location will be held after the reception, according to the tribe.
The morning service will celebrate Milanovich’s “life, legacy and contributions to the city of Palm Springs, the Agua Caliente Tribe and the Native American community,” according to a tribal statement.
Other speakers besides Brown and Mack will include:
Tristan Milanovich, Daughter of Chairman Milanovich
Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack (CA-45)
The Honorable Jerry Brown, Governor, State of California
Jeff L. Grubbe, Vice Chairman, Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians
Barbara Gonzales Lyons, Former Chairman and Vice Chair, Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians
Harold Matzner, Friend/ Community Leader
Larry Echo Hawk, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Indian Affairs
James Ramos, Chairman, San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians
Mark Macarro, Chairman, Pechanga Band of Luiseo Indians
Ernie Stevens, Chairman, National Indian Gaming Association
Robert Martin, Chairman, Morongo Band of Mission Indians
Daniel Tucker, Chairman, Sycuan Band of Kumeyaay Indians
Lynn Valbuena, Chairperson, Tribal Alliance of Sovereign Indian Nations
Juana Majel, First Vice President, National Congress of the American Indians
Kathleen DeRosa, Mayor, City of Cathedral City
G. Dana Hobart, Mayor, City of Rancho Mirage
Steve Pougnet, Mayor, City of Palm Springs
Parking will be available at the corner of Avenida Caballeros and Amado Road.
The northbound and southbound lanes of North Avenida Caballeros will be closed to all traffic from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. between East Amado Road and the north driveway of Margarita’s Restaurant at 1000 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way, according to police.
The eastbound lanes of East Tahquitz Canyon will be closed from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. to all traffic between Avenida Caballeros and Hermosa Drive. The westbound lanes of East Tahquitz Canyon will be open, “unless crowd overflow dictates otherwise,” Palm Springs police Sgt. Mike Kovaleff said.
There will be no Palm Springs City Council meeting tonight, and the flag at City Hall will be flown at half-staff to honor Milanovich, city spokeswoman Amy Blaisdell said.
Milanovich, who died at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage on March 11, began serving on the Tribal Council in 1978 and was elected the tribe’s chairman in 1984.
Tribal and community projects undertaken during his tenure include the purchase of the Spa Hotel in 1992; the addition of the Spa Resort Casino in 1995; development and construction of the Agua Caliente Casino in 2001; and the opening of the $90 million Spa Resort Casino in 2003 and the Spa Hotel’s Well Spirit Center Fitness Center in 2004.
The Palm Springs resident also oversaw construction of the Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa’s new hotel and expansion in 2008, followed by the completion of the tribe’s entertainment venue, The Show, in February 2009.
Milanovich was instrumental in the passage of Proposition 5, the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, which governs gambling operations on Indian land.
