The Riviera in Palm Springs was packed with community and business leaders for the fourth annual Chamber of Commerce All Mayors and Tribal Luncheon.

Vice Chairman of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians says this event nurtures relationships and brings visibility to their community, “Coming to events like this is really helpful for us to remind people in the Coachella valley that we exist, we have the largest land base of any tribe in the Coachella Valley.”

Riverside County Supervisor Manuel Perez, who was recently appointed to the Governor’s Homeless Council, took the opportunity to tell leaders about an issue he’s been tackling head on, homelessness.

“We can’t just stay on the sidelines and expect that this is going to get done by itself and so I‘m going to push and I have to be optimistic and I have to ask people to give a little in order for all of us to be successful,” says Perez adding it’s one of the most important issues facing not only the state but country.

Perez also touted the importance of the county’s cultural partnership with the MexicanState of Jalisco and the mariachi festival for the community that will take place on October 19 at the McCallum Theatre. (click here for info: Gala De Mariachi)

Cathedral City Mayor Mark Carneveale spoke about the casino that will be built by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Inidans.

He says their partnership is important to the economic growth of the city, “Their success is our success just with the tribal with their commitment to coming into Cathedral City we already have developers across the street to 13.5 acres for development and we also have other properties that developers are interested in just with the idea that the casino’s coming in.”

Carnevale says once the land is under tribal control the project is a go.

Tribal Chairman Jeff L. Grubbe spoke about many projects like the arena and casinos that are closer to becoming a reality, “We’re excited, we’ve done a lot of the hard work but there’s obviously more work to do,” adding that the land for the casino planned for Cathedral City should be in tribal control in a few weeks.

But the project nearest to his heart is the cultural museum that will be done next fall, he says it’s finally on track after a few delays that mostly had to do with getting everything just right so it can be a place they and the community can be proud of for years to come.

Grubbe says this will be a place to educate and shatter stereotypes, “We want to educate especially the young ones so that they can grow up learning more about the accurate history of our people.”

In a lighter moment, Supervisor Perez challenged Chairmain Grubbe to a dance off at the casino coming to Cathedral City, something closer to the immediate future to look for, Grubbe also said there would be an announcement on Monday about the sports arena coming to Palm Springs.

Stay with NBC Palm Springs for details on the announcement.

Tribal Leaders and Mayors Gather for Annual Luncheon