[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 49 (Monday, March 26, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E439]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING CHAIRMAN RICHARD M. MILANOVICH OF THE AGUA CALIENTE BAND OF 
                            CAHUILLA INDIANS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JEFF DENHAM

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 26, 2012

  Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart after the 
passing of Chairman Richard M. Milanovich of the Agua Caliente Band of 
Cahuilla Indians.
  Chairman Milanovich grew up on the reservation in Section 14 in 
Southern California, where poverty was rampant. Currently, the Agua 
Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians is a federally-recognized Indian 
Tribe located in Palm Springs, California with 32,000 acres of 
reservation lands that spread across Palm Springs, Cathedral City, 
Rancho Mirage, and into the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto mountains.
  Mr. Milanovich has always been dedicated to serving his tribal nation 
and his country, where he served in the United States Army from 1960 to 
1963 and was stationed in Munich, Germany, during the Cold War. He 
later returned to school to fulfill a lifelong ambition to secure his 
college degree and received a Bachelor of Science in Business and 
Management from the University of Redlands in 1996.
  Mr. Milanovich returned to the Agua Caliente reservation and started 
as a member of the tribal council in 1978. He then quickly ascended 
through the ranks to serve as secretary from 1982 to 1984, before he 
was elected chairman.
  The Chairman's connection to his tribe's history was never lost in 
his efforts to reinforce tribal sovereignty for Indians across the 
country. He was a strong practitioner and supporter of the ancient 
traditions, ceremonies and practices that are important to Indian 
people. But he was also a very strong leader in 21st-century Indian 
America.
  Through Chairman Milanovich's leadership, he helped craft mutual 
land-use agreements with Cathedral City in 1984 and with Rancho Mirage 
and Riverside County about five years later, modeled on an agreement 
struck with Palm Springs in the late 1970s. The intergovernmental 
agreements were among the first of their kind and served as a model for 
tribes throughout the rest of the country.
  His first major undertaking was the purchase of the Spa Hotel in Palm 
Springs in 1992. Since then, his 28-year role as a leader of Agua 
Caliente has allowed the tribe to develop self-sufficiency through 
education, cultural preservation, housing, and health care programs.
  Aside from raising his own tribal membership out of poverty and into 
self-sufficiency, Chairman Milanovich has contributed his time and 
wisdom to many advisory committees, charities, and other efforts to 
better Indian Country and the lives of people across the country. He 
served as the chairman of the Advisory Committee to the Office of 
Special Trustee for the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees 
the federal government's fiduciary responsibilities to manage tribal 
trust funds. In 2004, he was appointed to the Native American 
Stewardship Committee for the prestigious Autry National Center. 
Chairman Milanovich also served as a member of the Bureau of Land 
Management's California Desert Advisory Council, and the Native 
American Heritage Commission. The tribal leader served as an advocate 
for HIV prevention with the Desert AIDS Project for more than 10 years. 
As well as having the Agua Caliente tribe partner with the City of 
Hope's ``Hike 4 Hope'' each year at the Indian Canyons trail. The 
hiking event supports women's cancer programs at the foundation.
  Indian Country has lost a true leader and staple of the ideals of 
sovereignty and self-sufficiency. His leadership will not be forgotten 
and his efforts will be the foundation of the future for Indian tribes 
throughout the United States.

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