Dignitaries, Locals Remember Richard Milanovich

Escorted by dozens of vehicles and motorcycles, the casket of Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Chairman Richard Milanovich was led through the streets of Palm Springs today to a convention center memorial service.

The service was attended by dignitaries including Gov. Jerry Brown and Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Palm Springs.

The casket, draped with a tribal flag, was brought into the convention center ballroom and led up the aisle at the memorial service, followed by Milanovich's family and a cross adorned with flowers.

After the casket was placed on the stage, an honor guard folded an American flag and presented it to Milanovich's family in the front row.

More than 2,000 people were attending the service, which will be followed by a noon "celebration of life'' reception for Milanovich, who died March 11 at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage after a two-year battle with cancer. He was 69.

A private burial at an undisclosed location will be held after the reception, according to the tribe.

The morning service was a celebration of Milanovich's "life, legacy and contributions to the city of Palm Springs, the Agua Caliente Tribe and the Native American community,'' according to a tribal statement.

Other speakers besides Brown and Mack will include the mayors of Palm Springs, Cathedral City and Rancho Mirage, the chairmen of four Southern California Indian tribes, and Milanovich's daughter, Trista Milanovich.

There will be no Palm Springs City Council meeting tonight, and the flag at City Hall will be flown at half-staff to honor Milanovich, city spokeswoman Amy Blaisdell said.

Milanovich began serving on the Tribal Council in 1978 and was elected the tribe's chairman in 1984. Tribal and community projects undertaken during his tenure include the purchase of the Spa Hotel in 1992; the addition of the Spa Resort Casino in 1995; development and construction of the Agua Caliente Casino in 2001; and the opening of the $90 million Spa Resort Casino in 2003 and the Spa Hotel's Well Spirit Center Fitness Center in 2004.

The Palm Springs resident also oversaw construction of the Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa's new hotel and expansion in 2008, followed by the completion of the tribe's entertainment venue, The Show, in February 2009.

Milanovich was instrumental in the passage of Proposition 5, the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, which governs gambling operations on Indian land. He is survived by his wife of 37 years, Melissa, and six children, Scott, Reid, Trista, Sean, Travis and Shari.