PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA.- The Agua Caliente Cultural Museum (ACCM) has established a direct affiliation with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC.  This significant cultural partnership will be announced by Dr. Michael Hammond, Executive Director of the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum on Saturday night at the museum’s annual fundraising event, Dinner in the Canyons.  "The affiliation will bring to the Coachella Valley unprecedented access to the vast collections of the Smithsonian," noted Hammond.

Exhibitions of national importance, long term loans of important objects, and joint educational initiatives and resources will be made available from the Smithsonian as a result of this affiliation.  The focus of the ACCM is on Native American heritage, and the achievement of an affiliation with the Smithsonian will further enhance the prominence of the museum’s exhibitions.

Congresswoman Mary Bono, Honorary Chair of the Dinner, stated, "The affiliation with the Smithsonian Institution has been a most worthy goal that will help bring a new and expanded cultural paradigm to the people of the Coachella Valley and all of Southern California.  I applaud the foresight of the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum and wholeheartedly support this endeavor."

"We take great pride in our cultural heritage," said Richard Milanovich, Chairman of the Tribal Council of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, "and our direct association with the Smithsonian provides us with even more opportunity to share our history and culture with the citizens of our valley and those who come to visit.  We are very proud."

W. Richard West, Director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian, noted that, "The Agua Caliente Cultural Museum is one of only 12 museums in California to be affiliated with the Smithsonian.  It is our great privilege and pleasure to share with native peoples and others the rich cultural and artistic legacy represented in the National Museum of the American Indian’s collection of more than 800,000 objects.  Our association with the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum in the Coachella Valley is a major step towards realizing this continuing outreach."

The museum is planning a new $40 million, 100,000 square foot facility to open in the near future.  Millie Browne, Chairwomen of the ACCM Board, commented, "The Smithsonian affiliation is a great step forward in reaching our goal of a new museum that tells the story of our history and culture here in the Coachella Valley through our eyes.  It will be a first-rate facility designed to welcome everyone."

Designed by Jones & Jones Architects & Landscape Architects, the new museum will include a dramatic welcoming area; a 20,000 square foot permanent gallery; a 3,700 square foot changing exhibit gallery that can accommodate original ACCM, Smithsonian and other museum traveling exhibitions; a multi-use theatre for conferences, performances, and films; a Museum Shop; a Native Cafe; an Artifact Storage Center; a Library/Archives complex, including a rare book section, a research library, audiovisual facilities, and Children’s Library; and an Education Center, including classrooms, meeting rooms, an arts and crafts workshop, and an Outdoor Learning Garden that will greatly enhance the museum’s outreach programs to public schools and community centers.

The museum’s current location is 219 South Palm Canyon Drive in Palm
Springs.  The Museum is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to
5:00 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5:00 p.m.  Admission is free.