American Indian Student Follows Passion for Animals, Environment

It was a visit to Cal State San Marcos in the fourth grade that taught Aiden Valverde, a fourth-year American Indian Studies major, how to spread his wings.

And it was an internship with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that really helped him take flight.

“My love for animals and conservation happened when I was really young,” Valverde said. “My mom and I would always go to the San Diego Zoo or Safari Park and ever since then, I've loved animals. When I got older I learned about them, and how they're in danger and being illegally poached and harmed.”

Because of Valverde’s passion for animals and the environment, he enrolled at CSUSM as an environmental studies major. But Valverde found a way to combine his passion for the outdoors with his heritage after being connected to American Indian Studies Chair Joely Proudfit. 

“After taking one class, I was like, ‘This is it,’ ” Valverde said.

The class was American Indian Studies 101, an introduction to the California tribes. 

As a descendant of Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel, Valverde was happy for the opportunity to appreciate his culture and learn more about it, and he officially changed his major to American Indian Studies.

Valverde was exposed to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife internship from an email sent to multiple California universities. The Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office was searching for a Native student who was interested in conservation. 

Valverde jumped on the opportunity, aced his interview and began his job as an intern.

“There are three listed species of butterfly that I was assigned to research,” Valverde said. “With the Quino checkerspot butterfly, the Hermes copper butterfly and the Laguna Mountains skipper, my job was to research these butterflies, their biology, their habitat, populations, everything about them.” 

All of these species of butterflies are federally endangered. In order to go out in the areas where they are located, permits are needed. One of Valverde’s internship responsibilities was to help expedite the permit process for tribes and their traditional practices. He talked to the community, and then wrote a report explaining the effects on the habitat. 

“It would take six months to a year to get a permit for our tribe to go out in these areas,” Valverde said. “Our traditions are really seasonal and we just have to go out when we see it, get our hands dirty. By that time it's too late to get the permit. The report would help expedite the process of getting that permit. When land managers have to issue the permits, they can just read my report and issue the permits right away. That was the main goal.” 

Throughout the year at his internship, Valverde went on several field visits to places like Palomar Mountain and San Diego National Wildlife Refuge.

“I was able to go out with park rangers, entomologists and biologists,” Valvderde said. “I would research these plants and actually see them. It was amazing.”

While he was a part of several projects during his internship, most notable was the Pond Turtle Restoration. Valverde helped lay a rock foundation and put out logs for the turtles to sunbathe. This effect was positive and direct; a week later, the turtles were spotted using the newly implemented resources, making it clear how much the environment has benefited from Valverde’s time in the internship. 

“Aiden exemplifies everything we strive to achieve in American Indian Studies and at the California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center,” Proudfit said. “As a Kumeyaay scholar, he has masterfully woven together his cultural heritage, academic pursuits and professional aspirations in wildlife conservation.

“His journey from a student passionate about animal welfare to a researcher helping shape federal-tribal collaboration policies showcases the transformative power of education grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing."

Working with the butterflies was Valverde’s favorite part of the internship. Following a day in the field, Valverde got a call from someone on the Tribal Communication team letting him know they had officially found Laguna Mountain skippers on Palomar Mountain.

“They hadn’t been found out there in full butterfly form,” Valverde said. “They've only been found out there in their pupae or caterpillar form, and finding one means they're surviving. If there's one, that means something is going right. That means that others will be able to follow. This is historic.”

While the year-long internship ended last May, Valverde is looking toward a future in conservation after his expected graduation in fall 2025. He is entertaining a handful of ideas, hopeful for an opportunity that can include both the environmental and tribal side of things. 

“It's not a need to be there,” Valverde said, “I want to be there. I have to be there. It's like a burn in my heart, where it's like it just spreads whenever I go back.”

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