NEW EXHIBITION TO OPEN AT AGUA CALIENTE CULTURAL MUSEUM

December 31, 2009

WHAT’S THE SCORE? AMERCIAN INDIANS IN SPORTS
EXHIBITION OPENS AT AGUA CALIENTE CULTURAL MUSEUM

Palm Springs, CA – December 2009:

What’s the Score? American Indians in Sports

opens March 24, 2010 at Agua Caliente Cultural Museum, 219 S. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs and will continue through October 17, 2010. Sports played a prominent role in the traditional life of most Indian communities. Games such as shinny, lacrosse, footracing, archery, swimming, hoop and pole, and various types of football taught survival skills. This exhibition offers a look at Indian sports through the years, including traditional, boarding school, reservation, and professional sports. Notable Indian athletes, local reservation teams, and heroes such as Cahuilla baseball player Jack Tortes Meyers, catcher for the New York Giants, are spotlighted. This exhibition is sponsored by Robert and Renona Pennington. An opening reception will take place that evening from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Currently featured at the Museum is

Raw Earth and Fire Clouds

featuring Cahuilla pottery which began with the Cahuilla people long after basketry had reached a high level of artistry. At least 500 years ago, pottery techniques were adopted to supplement baskets as utensils for storage and cooking. Local clays were processed and coiled in shapes to hold water, seeds, and pigments. This exhibition interprets the full spectrum of pottery from clay sources, manufacture, pigments and painting, to firing the finished product. Raw Earth and Fire Clouds is sponsored by Debbie, Anthony and Andrew Purnel, and Ambrosia M. Howell, in memory of Priscilla Patencio Gonzales.