Museum Receives Grant

October 14, 2009

AGUA CALIENTE CULTURAL MUSEUM AWARDED GRANT BY
NATIONAL FILM PRESERVATION FOUNDATION

Palm Springs, CA – October 2009: Agua Caliente Cultural Museum has been awarded a grant by the National Film Preservation Foundation. The grant will allow for the preservation of the film Indian Family of the Desert currently showing at the Museum in the Cahuilla Culture & History Gallery.  Preservation work will begin immediately. The film was donated to the Museum by Sean Milanovich (Agua Caliente). Filmed in 1964, the production remains valuable today not only for its accurate and engaging introduction to Native American cultural life but for capturing the knowledge, sentiments, and voice of notable Cahuilla culture scholar Katherine Siva Saubel (Los Coyotes).

Restoration of the film will include the transfer of audio and video tracks from an original 16mm film reel to stable surrogate prints and to DVD with fully-corrected scenes. Only two film copies of the film are known to exist, making this preservation effort a valuable addition to the collections of the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum.

Agua Caliente Cultural Museum, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit institution, inspires people to learn about the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and other Native cultures. It keeps the Native spirit alive through exhibitions, collections, research, and educational programs. In recognition of its role as a regional and national resource, Agua Caliente Cultural Museum is the first Native American museum to be part of the prestigious Smithsonian Institution Affiliations Program. This status provides opportunities to share resources in programming, collections, scholarship, and technical expertise – and entitles the Museum to bring world-acclaimed Smithsonian exhibitions to the Coachella Valley.

Agua Caliente Cultural Museum is located at 219 S. Palm Canyon Drive in downtown Palm Springs. The Museum hours are Labor Day to Memorial Day: Wednesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5:00 p.m.; Memorial Day to Labor Day: Friday and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5:00 p.m. Admission is free.