Sarah James


Sarah Agnes James is a native Neets'aii Gwich'in from Arctic Village, Alaska, USA, and a board member of the International Indian Treaty Council. She was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2002, together with Jonathon Solomon and Norma Kassi. They received the prize for their struggles for protection of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from plans of oil exploration and drilling. Oil and gas exploration would disturb the life cycle of the Porcupine caribou, which has been a foundation for the Gwich'in culture for 20,000 years.

Politics and lobbying

In November 1969, James joined a group of indigenous students lead by Mohawk activist Richard Oakes that occupied the former prison island Alcatraz in San Francisco, CA.
In the 1990s James visited communities in South American countries, speaking for the underprivileged. She also appeared on television programs. And she traveled to Washington, trying to clear up concepts that they believe petroleum companies misrepresent, and speaking for preservation of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Honors and awards

In 1993, she was awarded the Alston Bannerman Fellowship. In 2001 she received the "Leadership for a Changing World" grant awarded for outstanding but little known leaders. In 2002 she was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize for "grassroots environmentalists along with Jonathon Solomon Sr., and Norma Kassi. She also received the National Conservation Land Trust Award in 2002. In 2004, she received the "Ecotrust Award for Indigenous Leadership", and in 2006 she earned the Alaska Conservation Foundation "Celia Hunter Award for Outstanding Conservations".