Sarah James is a native Gwich'in from Arctic Village, Alaska

Arctic Village, Alaska

Arctic Village is an unincorporated Native American village and a census-designated place in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, United States. As of the 2000 census, the population of the CDP was 152. The village is located in the large Gwitch'in speaking region of Alaska, and the local dialect...

, USA, and a board member of the International Indian Treaty Council. She was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize

Goldman Environmental Prize

The Goldman Environmental Prize is a prize awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists, one from each of the world's six geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, and South and Central America. The prize includes a no-strings-attached award of...

 in 2002, together with Jonathon Solomon

Jonathon Solomon

Jonathon Solomon was a native Gwich'in from Fort Yukon, Alaska, USA, and a member of the U.S. delegation to the International Porcupine Caribou Agreement between Canada and U.S. He served as the Traditional Chief of the Gwichyaa Zhee Gwich'in, a lifetime designation, from 2002 until his passing...

 and Norma Kassi

Norma Kassi

Norma Kassi is a native Gwich'in from Yukon Territory, Canada, and a former member of the Yukon Legislative Assembly and current chief of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation . She was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2002, together with Sarah James and Jonathon Solomon...

. They received the prize for their struggles for protection of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a national wildlife refuge in northeastern Alaska, United States. It consists of in the Alaska North Slope region. It is the largest National Wildlife Refuge in the country, slightly larger than the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge...

 (ANWR) from plans of oil exploration and drilling. Oil and gas exploration would disturb the life cycle of the Porcupine caribou

Porcupine caribou

The Porcupine caribou or Grant's caribou is a subspecies of the caribou found in Alaska and adjacent parts of Canada. It resembles the Barren-ground Caribou and is sometimes included in it....

, which has been a foundation for the Gwich'in culture for 20,000 years.

Politics and lobbying

In the 1990s James visited communities in South American countries (Brazil, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Guatemala), speaking for the underprivileged. She also appeared on television programs (CNN, MacNeil-Lehrer, CBS). And she travelled to Washington, trying to clear up concepts that they believe petroleum companies misrepresent, and speaking for preservation of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.