AMLT Staff

Josh Higuera-Hood, Ethnobotany Specialist (Tribal Member)

Why did you want to work for AMLT / why are you doing this work?

I first heard of AMLT through the previous Tribal Vice Chair, who is a cousin of my grandfather’s. I was doing an internship at Pinnacles, and he mentioned that AMLT was just getting started. I had already done a little bit of work with Sara at Pinnacles, and thought AMLT sounded like a cool, new thing that would connect me with Tribal community and Tribal members I didn’t get to grow up around. That’s initially why I decided to get involved with AMLT, trying to create a connection with my Tribe.

I recently moved into a new position, Ethnobotany Specialist in-training. I’ll be preparing different ethnobotanical activities for the youth camp, internship program, and maybe the Native Stewardship Corps. I’ll also work on land acquisition projects to assess different properties for cultural resources. When I was doing more work with volunteers out in the field, I got to build connections with some of the volunteers that have been really moving. [My time with the Native Plant Program], working with the plants, learning about them and how different plants were used, has felt like a reconnection to my grandmother, the things she did throughout her life and the people she was able to help. There’s a connection I feel through [working with the plants] to my heritage, and all we’ve lost.

What from your whole life's experiences are you bringing to this role?

I originally went into this work field through my internship at Pinnacles. While I was there, I got to do a multitude of things, like working with the condor crew and vegetation crew, doing invasive species removal, and cataloging the bugs.

Where are you from?

I currently live in Salinas, but I grew up in the traditional Mutsun territory. A lot of my family still lives in the same places that their ancestors have lived for a long time. I feel very fortunate