A leader’s powerful lasting legacy
A leader’s powerful lasting legacy
Written by Terria Smith
I remember Chairman Richard Milanovich very well. My late auntie Lucille Torro served with him on the Agua Caliente Tribal Council. During part of his 30 years in office my mother also served as Chairwoman for our tribe at Torres Martinez. She was always happy whenever she saw him because he was such a kind and friendly man. In fact, when my mother retired from her role in tribal leadership it was Chairman Milanovich who arranged for the City of Palm Springs to honor her with a proclamation making January 27, 2003 ‘Mary Belardo Day.’ His late sister Virginia also contributed to a fund that was created for my mother after her home burned down. The Milanovich family has been good to us. They are sincere people. Their amazing generosity lives on even now, years after the Chairman’s passing.
Friday, May 6 marked the 3rd Annual Richard M. Milanovich Legacy Hike. The fundraiser benefits the George Washington University Fellowship in Native American Political Leadership. The 2016 recipient and first fellow with the program is Fiona Teller of the Dine Nation.
This was my first year participating in the event, but not my first time visiting the Indian Canyons in Palm Springs where it took place. That area is very special to us as Cahuilla people and always has been. On this day, I hiked in beautiful Andreas Canyon with a group led by his son Travis. Along the trail, he told us stories about his family and the history of the canyon. Sean Milanovich – another son of the late Chairman, whom I work with quite a lot in the community – also led a group on a separate hike through Murray Canyon.
The walk concluded with festivities that honored the participants, sponsors, tribal leaders, and others. Of course there was bird singing and lots of food. It was wonderful to see tribal members from the Agua Caliente band, Twenty-Nine Palms band, as well as other members of the community. There were a lot of us there who remember the Chairman.
Agua Caliente Councilman Reid Milanovich said that the event combined some of the things that his father loved the most.
“He loved the canyons, he loved to hike,” Reid said. “And he loved school.”
Reid went on to say that his father believed that education was a means of self empowerment. In his own life, the Chairman showed us how true this was. He was an educated man who graduated with a bachelor’s degree after studying business at the University of Redlands.
In addition to leading his tribe, he also served as Chairman of the Advisory Committee to the Office of Special Trustee for the U.S. Department of Interior, on the Native American Stewardship Committee for the Autry National Center, and as a member of the Bureau of Land Management’s California Desert Advisory Council and the Native American Heritage Commission.
I am grateful to have gotten to spend the day in the beautiful canyons, to have had wonderful memories, and to have stood alongside the strong people that the Chairman has left behind.
Ac’ama
