Sarah James, Gwich’in activist and environmental prizewinner, answers questions 0

Sarah James.

What work do you do?

I am the board chairperson for the Gwich'in Steering Committee. I work as I live the life. And I am open to opportunities to tell my story in order to protect the calving and nursery grounds of the Porcupine caribou herd.

What does your organization do?

The Gwich'in Steering Committee works on behalf of the Gwich'in Nation to protect Iizhik Gwats'an Gwandaii Goodlit, the Sacred Place Where Life Begins -- the caribou calving and nursery grounds of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

In 1988, when we learned of the threat of oil development in the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge, the Gwich'in elders called upon the chiefs to hold a gathering, Gwich'in Niintsyaa, to discuss this threat. We agreed unanimously to speak with one voice in opposition to oil and gas development in the birthplace and nursery grounds of the Porcupine caribou herd. Our communities established the Gwich'in Steering Committee with the mandate that the organization represent the interests of the Gwich'in Nation in the Arctic Refuge debate.

Have you herd about the plight of the caribou?

Photo: yfwmb.yk.ca

Representatives were appointed from each region within the Gwich'in Nation. In 2002, three of us -- Jonathon Solomon, Norma Kassi, and myself -- were awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize. Solomon, the former chairperson from Fort Yukon, passed away this summer. The Gwich'in gathering was dedicated to his memory. He was a very good leader and is greatly missed.

The board, staff, and volunteers of the Gwich'in Steering Committee have succeeded in working on a grassroots level to educate the public and decision makers of the many reasons why this sacred place must be protected and why this is a human-rights issue for the Gwich'in Nation. We want to be able to continue the way of life that we have known since time immemorial. We hope that through our work, people will become better educated about the Arctic Refuge and tell their friends and the decision makers why it needs to be protected for them and for future generations.

What are you working on at the moment?

One of the projects that we hope to begin soon is to document an oral history of the Gwich'in Steering Committee's work on behalf of the Gwich'in Nation to protect the Arctic Refuge.

How do you get to work?

If I am in Arctic Village, I work out of my cabin. If I have to travel, I take a small plane from Arctic Village to Fairbanks, and from there get on a jet to Washington, D.C., or wherever I have to go.

What long and winding road led you to your current position?

This is my way of life. We are born with this way of life and we will die with it. It never occurred to me that something had to wake me up to do this. Nothing magic happened to me. Our life depends on it. It's about survival; it's something that we have to protect in order to survive. It's our responsibility. It's the environment we live in. We believe everything is related.

Where were you born? Where do you live now?

I was born in Fort Yukon, Alaska, because that is where the hospital was. I grew up part of the time in Fort Yukon and Salmon River, but most of the time in Arctic Village, Alaska, where I live now.

What has been the worst moment in your professional life to date?

Just before the Exxon Valdez disaster happened, drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was about to become a reality.

What's been the best?

About the only good thing that came out of the tragedy of the Exxon Valdez was that Congress decided against drilling in the Arctic Refuge. It's terrible: The Gwich'in way of life continues, yet for the people of Prince William Sound, their way of life has been devastated. It continues to this day without any real compensation for what they have lost.

What environmental offense has infuriated you the most?

When politicians attach the Arctic Refuge to unrelated bills and say it will benefit alternative energy or work on climate change. In 2005, politicians tried again and again to attach the Arctic Refuge to the budget bill. It wasn't going to help with the budget, but it was a trick to get the Arctic Refuge open to drilling.

I hope that the recent elections lead to a better energy policy. We have a chance to protect the land, and the elections showed that the people of the United States, along with the Gwich'in people, want an energy policy that makes sense. We have to pay attention to climate change. I have been seeing changes around Arctic Village for several years now, like the tree line changing and lakes drying up. This is serious -- we have to do something now.

What's your environmental vice?

I don't recycle enough.

How do you spend your free time (if you have any)?

I play Scrabble with my sister.

Read any good books lately?

Fort Yukon Trader, by C. Masten Beaver.

What's your favorite meal?

Mountain sheep, caribou head soup, caribou meat, bone juice, bone marrow, duck soup, Fort Yukon king salmon, salmonberries and blueberries, fry bread, and campfire tea.

What's your favorite place or ecosystem?

Red Sheep Creek, north of Arctic Village.

If you could institute by fiat one environmental reform, what would it be?

Permanent wilderness protection for the Arctic Refuge.

Who was your favorite musical artist when you were 18? How about now?

Then: Jimmy Clayton. Now: Bob Dylan.

What's your favorite TV show? Movie?

TV: Seinfeld. Movie: Runaway Bride.

If you could have every InterActivist reader do one thing, what would it be?

Donate to the Gwich'in Steering Committee. The calving and nursery grounds will never be completely safe until the Arctic Refuge has wilderness designation. We have to continue to educate people and work like we have since 1988 in order to protect the Sacred Place Where Life Begins.

Fun and James

What are the Gwich'in Steering Committee's plans for the next two years, and what can all of us people who live in the Lower 48 do to help the committee in its work?    -- Lenny Kohm, Todd, N.C.

Sarah James, Gwich'in Steering Committee.

We are going to continue to educate the world about global warming. People will see that it makes no sense to open a new place to drilling for oil, which will ultimately release more greenhouse-gas emissions.

We really need financial assistance. Please visit our website to find out more about the Gwich'in people. Educate your decision makers, friends, and groups about the Gwich'in and supporting wilderness designation for the Arctic Refuge. We still need to educate the public and go for permanent protection.

What words can I use to convince my fellow Alaskans, including North Slope Natives, that conserving Alaska's natural resources will be to our benefit in all ways, including economic? What can I say that will show them that selling out our resources is going to hurt us all in the long run?    -- Gail Fullerton, Fairbanks, Alaska

We all have to live the best example we can and speak in ways that promote sustainable energy and respecting the land. Conservation is long-range protection for our people and for our children. It's not only for us, it's for the whole world. We are one of the last people living off the land; it's still natural. We have to educate people because after this there is no more. It's the only place for birds and ducks, migratory animals, fish, and all kinds of life. Here in Alaska the ecosystem still works.

We can educate about climate change. Global warming is real; it is hitting us first in Alaska. If a person is educated, they won't come here to destroy it.

Now that the Bush administration is attempting to also open areas in Alaska such as the Pebble Mine Project and Teshekpuk Lake to resource extraction, has your organization been approached by the communities and Alaskan Native tribes in those areas for help in building strategies to stop such development?    -- Kate McLaughlin, Chenega Bay, Alaska

Many people approach us, but our mandate speaks only to protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Others may have been inspired in their homelands. We are hearing more people talk about how such projects are harmful to their human rights; we have supported the Inupiat in opposing offshore drilling. When the Refuge is permanently protected, we will still have a lot of work to do. On these other issues it is very alarming to me because Alaska is important to the whole world. Even though Alaska politicians say that this is an Alaskan issue, I think it is connected to the whole world.

How is your organization planning on compensating for the lack of job opportunities by not allowing the oil companies to drill?
   -- Mark Schroder, Madison, Wis.

There never are jobs for us. We hear the same story, the same thing. When they were going to build the pipeline, it sounded like there would be jobs forever, but very few got hired, and when they got hired they got low wages. A lot of outsiders got the jobs. Our fuel prices never went down. What benefit we get in Alaska is very small, yet the oil companies get all kinds of financial breaks.

Don't tell me that things will change for the better if we go for development; that's not going to stop, because they are in control. The jobs would be a short-term benefit. The promises of jobs are rarely fulfilled. For example, at Nuiqsut there are only two or three people from Nuiqsut working at Alpine, which is directly in their backyard. Section 29 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act promised jobs too, but what we see is that Alaska Natives are not hired. It's a false promise. Alternative energy will get far more sustainable jobs in Alaska and throughout the country -- even Wisconsin.

Is anyone in the new 110th Congress planning to introduce legislation to protect the entire Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as federal wilderness?    -- Woody Hesselbarth, Fort Collins, Colo.

Yes. Since the 1980s our champions in Congress have introduced bills to designate the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as wilderness. We expect this to happen again. Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) has introduced bills in the past, and we expect future bills.

I heard that the Gwich'in people are working to create more sustainable energy systems in Arctic Village. Are other Gwich'in villages also interested in the same sort of projects? Why or why not? And lastly, what would be the next step for the Gwich'in people if the Refuge is designated a wilderness area?    -- Salma Monani, St. Paul, Minn.

We do need to promote alternative energy and we need everybody to start doing something toward alternative energy. Arctic Village has a solar panel at the laundromat. We are always looking for ways for Arctic Village to get more alternative energy. We are trying to set a good example by having a solar panel. We have a goal to have everyone using solar in five years. Other Gwich'in communities in Alaska and Canada are looking into alternative energy sources too.

If there is permanent protection, first we will give thanks to the Creator, and we'll probably celebrate. We'll do everything we can to protect the caribou ecosystem, migratory route, and all that, besides their birthplace.

I am disheartened by the push for development on Native Corporation lands as a prerogative coming out of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Clearly, stances on development and drilling differ between the corporations. How uniformly have Native villages and corporations stood up against development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge? In your opinion, how do Alaskan Natives seek to reconcile traditional ways with the economic opportunities found in modern development?    -- Trevor Buckley, Chesterfield, Va.

Unfortunately the corporations are not the economic arm of the tribes and do not answer to the tribes. We have support from tribes in the Alaska Inter-Tribal Council, Tanana Chiefs Conference, and the National Congress of American Indians.

Overall, for me, there's more compromise of traditional values than balancing the environment. I believe that if we can educate people to protect the environment there's no way that we are going to live totally traditionally. We have to live in two worlds: modern and traditional. You have to teach your children that too.

The only way to take care of the last of the wilderness is through education. The Alaska Native corporations are too trusting of the large corporations. There are opportunities for tourism, water, and small things we can do to have economic benefits to their people. Alaska is good for agriculture, lots of water, lots of scenery and recreation. There are some other sources of economic benefit and a lot of cultural preservation still exists. Those are the most important things that we can get in short-term benefit, instead of turning things over to multinational corporations.

I know there is an Episcopal church in Arctic Village. And in your photograph, you are seen to be wearing a cross. How do Christianity and the sacred traditions of the Gwich'in complement each other? Has the presence of the church been helpful to you in your fight?    -- Marcus Stephanus, New York, N.Y.

Yes, they are very helpful. In our area, the Episcopalians came to teach and nurse the sick people. They have always been there for us and we believe that the church and the people saved our life. We probably wouldn't exist without their help. They helped us to be here today; they always have respected us. We have never had a bad experience with their church. We teach them, they teach us. That is how it has been and that is how it is today.

Bishop Mark MacDonald is very special in my heart because I traveled with him. I attend his service; he has many good stories to tell and teaches in a way that makes it easier for us to understand the world we live in. I have great respect for him; he works hard with us to educate the world.

Can you please tell me the current number of caribou in the Porcupine herd?    -- Charlotte Masarik, Laguna Beach, American Samoa

There hasn't been a recent count due to weather conditions. The most recent count is 120,000. They have been as high as 186,000, but the herd has declined. The factors are not fully explained, but global warming is thought to be one of the factors, and possibly harassment by the biologists.

I made a DVD about oil and the Arctic Refuge which I show to college students. I also took some of my photos and made posters of them about the plight of the Refuge animals and the wrong being done to the Gwich'in. If you would like copies of my DVD or posters, let me know.    -- E. Ivan White, Price, Utah

I would like a copy of your DVD. I believe that most people are good people and want to do the right thing. We need people like you doing more of this type of thing. Sometimes it is not easy, sometimes it is not fun, sometimes it is very rewarding, sometimes it is very hard. There is not enough money. The only benefit we get is for the future generations, which has no price tag, and a lot of people do not see it. We forget to see it that way and try to benefit ourselves, for the short term, and not think about the long term.

Mahsi choo, for all your work, being so far from Izhik Gwats'an Gwandaii Goodlit. The work you are doing is very valuable. We believe everything is related. If everything is balanced, the earth will work for all of us, not just for our own little lot. We are talking about sharing the whole world together, because there are some people with too much that are not sharing and too many without enough.

We are grassroots people and we continue to win this fight because so many people across the country are inspired and take action. That is how we will keep this place safe for all time.

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