Agua Caliente exhibition selected for national spotlight
Section 14 – The Other Palm Springs – an exhibition curated by Agua Caliente Cultural Museum, has been selected to travel to the National Museum of the American Indian in 2018.
The announcement was made by Allison Hicks, co-chair of the National Council of the National Museum of the American Indian, when she attended the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum Dinner in the Canyons fundraiser in Palm Springs on October 10.
“We are so honored to be able to bring such an important exhibition about Agua Caliente to the National Museum of the American Indian,” said Hicks, a member of the Prairie Band of Potawatomie Indians. “We feel that Native communities tell their own stories best, and we are thrilled to partner.”
According to the release, Kevin Gover, the Director of NMAI, visited Agua Caliente Cultural Museum while in Palm Springs in March. After seeing the exhibition, he sent a note to Executive Director Michael Hammond saying, “Michael, I love this exhibition. How do we get it at the Smithsonian?”
After a series of follow-up conversations, it was agreed the exhibition would be displayed at NMAI – a museum that represents all Indigenous people of the Americas.
Officials said the exhibition will be viewed by more than 2 million NMAI visitors annually.
“We are the first tribal museum to ever be invited,” said Hammond. “In my field, this is big news – truly a moment. Section 14 – The Other Palm Springs is about land struggle in the West. It is about the dominant culture trying to take land away from traditional inhabitants of the land. It is about racism. It is about a reporter winning a Pulitzer Prize for uncovering graft and corruption that was being used against Tribal members fighting for sovereignty and to preserve their ancestral lands.”
The exhibition is currently on display at the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum through January 10, 2016. The museum is located at 219 S. Palm Canyon Drive at Arenas Road.
