PALM SPRINGS AND THE AGUA CALIENTE INDIAN RESERVATION An outline of their relations, and suggestions for improvements and betterments. Prepared for submission to Hon. John Collier, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, Washington, D. C., and for submission to the Committees upon Indian Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States Congress, by Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce, Palm Springs, Calif.; Frank H. Bennett, president; F. V. Shannon, secretary; O. E. Coffman, chairman of Committee on Indian Affairs, Palm Springs, Calif. PROBLEMS FACING PALM SPRINGS DUE TO ITS ADJACENT INDIAN RESERVATION (1) Government. The problem which exists between Palm Springs and its adjacent Indian reservation lands had its origin in the granting to the Southern Pacific Railroad of every alternate section of this area and to the Indians of the Agua Caliente Band the sections lying between such Southern Pacific grants. Under California law noncontiguous areas cannot be incorporated, and it has been held that sections cornering on each other as a checkerboard are not contiguous. It is therefore impossible under the present set-up to legally form and operate a municipal government which can exercise control over the Palm Springs area that is privately owned, to say nothing of that area which is owned by the Indians. It may readily be seen from this that an adequate municipal government for this community is impossible under existing conditions. So long as the Indians were scattered on their lands and were engaged in agricultural pursuits they created no problem. The difficulties have arisen since the Indians abandoned agriculture, moved to lands adjoining the heart of Palm Springs, and encouraged occupancy of their lands by hundreds of white residents who are largely laborers and a poor class of tourist. (2) Menace to property values. At the present time the cheap shack construction and lack of planned improvement which is notable in the settled part of the Palm Springs Indian Reservation lands is extremely detrimental to adjacent privately owned property. The inadequate sanitary conditions and facilities upon that part of the reservation occupied by white people in large numbers is a menace not only to the stability of adjacent values but is a serious threat to the health of the entire community. (3) Taxation.-Costly investments have been made on the privately owned property in Palm Springs which contribute large taxes to the county, State, and Federal Governments. The fact that white persons can do business on Indian lands just across the street from the privately owned business center of the community, and that these persons are exempt from all taxation charges, places the businesses operating on privately owned property at a very great disadvantage, due to unfair competition. Up to the present time the improvements on the Indian reservation have been without organized plan or appreciable capital investment. The result has been a low-grade, shack construction which has not proved as serious a competitive factor in former years as might be expected from this well-located, tax-free area. However, due to increasing construction investments of the most expensive type which are being made on adjacent privately owned property, the advantages to private investors for projects of equal quality on taxfree reservation land grows more apparent and daily presents a greater menace to the safety of existing privately owned business enterprise. Should an improvement be made on the Indian reservation comparable in character to those now on privately owned property and have the advantage of being tax free, the unfair competition would result in heavy losses. These losses would be sustained by those who, through their vision, thrift, and industry have established the national reputation and high values which this community enjoys. Another inequality presented by the situation of a tax-free island in the center of the community is related to the public-school situation. More than half of the children attending local public schools which are maintained by the taxes of private-property owners, are children whose parents live tax free on the reservation. This large white population on the reservation requires expensive school facilities, none of the cost of which construction or maintenance is borne by them. They also have voting privileges in the school-district elections and by actual count outnumber the taxpaying voters. They are thus able to elect school officials; vote a bond issue upon the community, none which they pay for; and otherwise control a school situation for which they are in no way financially responsible. The figures on school attendance for the year 1935-36 were 143 white children from the reservation and 133 from privately owned property. This is exclusive of the Indian attendance which is compensated for by the Federal Government and which numbers 10 children. (4) Roads and rights-of-way.-In any growing community the creation of a road system adequate to present and future needs constitutes an important factor in development. With the Indians owning every alternate section, no adequate road system can be provided without crossing or bordering Indian lands. Under existing conditions it is impossible to secure these needed rightsof-way. There are only two north and south thoroughfares through Palm Springs at present, one of which borders Indian land on section 14. This road is extremely narrow and inadequate to safely care for the traffic that must of necessity use this thoroughfare. WHAT PALM SPRINGS WANTS 1. The improvement of the Indian lands adjacent to the center of the community with construction and landscaping which will not be detrimental to values of privately owned property. 2. The sale of the east part of section 22 to permit it to be included in the community. This will eliminate the present interference of the formation and operation of fire, police, and sanitary districts, and any other contemplated forms of civic government. 3. An administration of laws in the whole community applicable alike to all white residents, whether residing upon Indian lands or private lands; and the removal of inequalities between the whites residing upon Indian lands and those residing upon private lands. 4. The abolishment of exemption from taxation of the Indian lands and improvements when occupied by white tenants. 5. The conversion of the natural attractions, Tahquitz, Andreas, Murray, and Palm Canyons, and the Indian hot springs with a suitable area surrounding them into national parks. 6. Should the Indians not approve of the inclusion of the hot springs in a national-park plan, Palm Springs wants the protection and preservation of the Indian hot springs and a suitable area of surrounding land to provide for— A. 1. Perpetual and inalienable ownership by the Indians; B. 2. The free and exclusive occupancy of such area by members of the Agua Caliente Tribe; C. 3. The use of the springs by the general public upon payment of an adequate fee to the Indians. 7. The allocation of section 18 for an airport to replace the present landing field on section 14, which is inadequate to the community's needs. 8. The orderly sale of the Indian lands adjacent to and within the developed area of the community (the Hot Springs area excepted-see no. 6). 9. The restrictions of that portion of the Indian lands which remain under tribal or individual control to the use and occupancy of members of the Indian race only. 10. The elimination by the Indian Bureau of the dissatisfaction of the Palm Springs Indians in the manner of the collection and disposition of rental moneys that belong to the tribe. The present disposition of lease moneys to the Indian agency in trust for the Indians is unsatisfactory to the Indians and reflects unfavorably in their minds upon the Palm Springs people who are in no way responsible for this problem. PALM SPRINGS, THE COMMUNITY Palm Springs is an unincorporated community in Riverside County, Calif., situated at the western edge of the Coachella Valley Desert, approximately 56 miles from the city of Riverside-the county seat of Riverside County-and about 112 miles from the center of the metropolitan area of Los Angeles. It occupies diagonal sections of private land alternating with diagonal sections of Indian reservation lands, the private lands being the odd-numbered sections and the reservation lands being the even numbered sections, with the exception of the east half of section 10, township 4, range 4, which is privately owned land in the center of the residence area of Palm Springs proper. It is surrounded in its outlying districts by like alternating sections of private and reservation lands, nearly the whole of the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation being located upon the even-numbered sections of the Land Office survey of public lands, while the odd-numbered sections in between are mostly private Lands, originally granted by the Government to the Southern Pacific Railroad. It is at an elevation above sea level of some 450 feet and it is situated directly at the foot of San Jacinto Mountain which rises precipitously, almost perpendicularly, on the west to a height of 10,805 feet. It is a winter resort having an unusually dry climate, the average humidity being 29, and from November to April, 78, the rainfall varying from 0.5-inch to 6 inches per annum. The minimum winter temperature is 45° F., which rises to 126° in the summer, averaging between 70° and 80° during the winter season from November to May. High winds are of very rare occurrence and when they do occur they usually come from San Gorgonio Pass to the northwest or from Palm or Tahquitz Canyons to the south. The absence of high winds should be especially noted. In most desert areas a disgreeable feature of the climate is the high velocity and frequency of the winds causing dust and sand storms. Because of its location in the lee of Mount San Jacinto, Palm Springs is remarkably free from high winds and dust and sand storms, and it is only occasionally that such storms occur. This has a direct bearing upon the restrictions of the of the desirable area for residence purposes. Lands that are too far out away from the protection of the mountain are more subject to this disagreeable feature. The principal attractions of Palm Springs are the climate, the absence of disagreeable winds and storms, its desert landscape, its nearness to the densely populated section of southern California, itself a popular winter resort, and the convenience of its transportation facilities. TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES Palm Springs Station, 10 miles from the center of the community, is on the transcontinental line of the Southern Pacific (Sunset Route) and the Rock Island Railway System, and convenient stops are made by transcontinental trains. Visitors traveling on the Union Pacific or Sante Fe are met at San Bernardino, 54 miles away, by special arrangement. During the winter season a Chicago-Palm Springs Pullman sleeper is carried on the "Golden State Limited." Transcontinental and Pacific Northwest planes make conenctions with the Palm Springs Airline at Los Angeles. An airplane landing field is situated at Palm Springs and many private planes land there during the winter season. A branch of United States Highway No. 99, a part of the State highway system, passes through Palm Springs from El Centro, Yuma, and the East, and continues to Los Angeles, Pasadena, and other southern California cities over broad pavements. It requires about 2% or 3 hours to drive by automobile from Los Angeles to Palm Springs. HISTORY Apparently there were scattered groups of Indians in the vicinity of Palm Springs long before the white man came, though there is little archeological evidence indicating a long-continued habitation in any one locality. Though there were occasional white visitors earlier, the first settlers did not arrive until the early eighties. They were attracted by the climate and the health-giving rays of the desert sun, and soon a fair-sized community formed. The original townsite was platted in 1887. Farming, principally horticulture, was engaged in upon land purchased from the Southern Pacific Railroad. The local supply of water was insufficient for irrigation needs and water was developed in Whitewater Canyon, some 12 or 15 miles to the north, and brought down in open-ditch and flume as early as 1890 or before. However, during a long period of drought, even this supply failed and farming was abandoned, and the community thereafter became distinctly a pleasure and health resort. Some attempts at commercial agriculture have since been made, but they have not been profitable. The Desert Inn, one of the leading present-day hostelries, was opened in 1908, and for the next 10 years Palm Springs was visited only by those knowing ones who were sufficiently attracted by the climate and the charm of the desert to endure the hardships of travel over the roads of those days. By the year 1926 the improvements of roads and the conveniences of travel brought increased numbers of people, and the community began to grow and to be world renowned as a winter resort. Its attractions were widely publicized, and many visitors and permanent residents arrived. During the depression there was a slowing up of real-estate development and building, but during the last 2 or 3 years, and especially at the present, the activity has greatly increased. NATURAL ATTRACTIONS There are many scenic attractions and points of interest in the vicinity of Palm Springs or within easy automobile journey. The desert itself, with its strange and often weird vegetation, and in the springtime its innumerable wild flowers of brilliant hue, the often grotesque rock formations, and the vast expanse of barren waste. It is sufficient to name some of the interesting places, such as Chino Canyon, Coral Reef, Deep Canyon, the Devil's Cactus Garden, the Garnet Hills, the Gordon Trail, Hidden Spring Canyon, Magnesia Spring Canyon, the Sand Dunes, Painted Canyon, and Pines to Palms Highway; and there are many others. But the principal attractions are the canyons in the immediate vicinity of Palm Springs, such as Tahquitz, Andreas, Murray, and Palm Canyons. Of these, Andreas and Palm Canyons are the most attractive, especially Palm Canyon. Andreas Canyon is 4 or 5 miles south of Palm Springs. A fair automobile road goes right to the canyon mouth. There are fine cliffs of the palisade sort, some caves with Indian relics, and many palms, one group of which is remarkable for its size. There is a stream of pure mountain water and some lovely canyon scenery. Palm Canyon opens about 7 miles south of Palm Springs, at the very end of the arm of the desert into which Andreas and Murray Canyons also emerge. An automobile road, paved to the entrance of the Indian reservation, runs to the mouth of the canyon, which is a rocky, winding ravine, strikingly picturesque, crowded with palms to the number of, probably, thousands. These palms, Washingtonia filifera (fan palm), are native palms of the desert, indigenous to the locality and probably not found elsewhere than in this desert. A good stream of water flows in the canyon and greatly enhances its charm. Much has been written in newspaper and magazine articles and in books about the locality in question, especially Palm Canyon. Briefly stated, the charm of this canyon consists in the startling combination of rugged, rocky gorges and canyons, essentially savage and desert like, with the arboreal grace of tall, tropical-seeming palms growing in native loveliness beside a snow-fed, gushing stream. Botanists find added interest in the rarity of the palms and in the cacti and other growths whose grotesque shapes give contrast to the clean arrowy forms of their aspiring companions. If the effect of the whole were to be summed up in one word, it would be, probably, not grandeur, nor even beauty, but strangeness to a notable degree. Many thousands visit the canyons annually, a toll of 25 cents charged by the Indians for each automobile, irrespective of the number of passengers, producing an estimated revenue in excess of $7,000 annually. The entrance to Palm Canyon is located upon section 14, township 5, range 4— Indian-reservation land, exactly 6 miles south of the section 14, township 4, range 4, of Indian-reservation lands adjacent to Palm Springs-but it will be noted by reference to the map herewith that little of the remainder of the canyon crosses Indian land. The entrances to Murray and Andreas Canyons and likewise Tahquitz Canyon are also upon Indian lands; Murray upon section 10 and Andreas upon the southeast quarter of section 3 in township 5, range 4, and Tahquitz upon section 22, township 4, range 4. More of Murray, Andreas, and Tahquitz Canyons continue across Indian lands than of Palm Canyon, yet a considerable portion of each, especially the more accessible part of Andreas Canyon, is upon private land. In the upper reaches these canyons are extremely rugged and steep and only the hardier and more experienced hikers can negotiate them. These canyons are too precious ever to permit them to come into the possession of private interests. In fact, they are not suitable for private exploita tion, for, after all, they are relatively small, and in the upper reaches inaccessible, and a short visit is satisfying, though many return again and again for a renewal of the thrill of their first visit. They should be converted into national parks and preserved forever in their native beauty and attractiveness for the enjoyment of all of the people, many of whom are visitors from distant places; and the Indians should be compensated for them from Government funds, for they are of national interest. One other attraction of great importance is the hot springs on section 14, just over the line of Indian Avenue, opposite the business center of Palm Springs. The flow of the springs is not as large as many others in southern California, but it is sufficient for a few bathers at a time. The waters are said to have good curative properties, but the springs are not much used, especially not by the more particular ones because of the unattractive accommodations and the supposed lack of strict cleanliness and observance of sanitary precautions. They are under the sole management of the Indians and a fair revenue is derived therefrom by charging a small fee for bathing in them. A Government report of an analysis of the water from these springs (really one spring) shows: Metaboric acid (B02). Sulphuric acid (H2SO4). W. L. 286 Milligrams per liter Trace. 44. 8 37.3 Carbonic acid (CO:). Bicarbonic acid (HCO3) Nitric acid (NO3). Clorin (Cl). Iron (Fe). Calcium (Ca). 33.0 36. 6 1 25.0 1.9 2.5 Magnesium (Mg) Sodium (Na). 7 67.5 249. 4 Hypothetical combinations It is doubtful if the springs could be operated profitably on a large scale. Probably enough could be realized to pay for suitable accommodations and their proper maintenance and leave some for payment to the Indians, by charging a small fee for bathing privileges. The springs should be protected from private owenrship or exploitation and should be included in a park or public area consisting of 30 or 40 acres adjacent to it and providing for perpetual and inalienable ownership by the Indians, the free and exclusive occupancy of such area by the members of the Agua Caliente Band of Indians, and the use of the springs by the general public upon the payment of an adequate fee to the Indians and for mainte nance. THE PROBLEM OF PALM SPRINGS AND THE INDIAN RESERVATION LANDS In the early days little thought was given to the proximity of the Indian lands, nor to the fact that because they were located upon diagonal sections separating the private lands, they would interfere with the symmetrical and unified development of the community, but as soon as the comparatively small |