UIC mourns Utqiaġvik leader James “Jimmy” Stotts after decades of service

James “Jimmy” Stotts spent decades turning local North Slope leadership into lasting Arctic influence, and Utqiaġvik is now mourning the man who helped connect borough halls, Native corporations and Inuit politics across the circumpolar world. Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation said it was deeply saddened by the loss of a respected Iñupiaq leader whose lifelong dedication to Inuit self-determination, advocacy and service helped shape the future of communities across the Arctic.

Stotts died May 23 in Anchorage at age 78 after a long battle with cancer. He was born in Utqiaġvik on Nov. 18, 1947, and his obituary identified him as the oldest child of Mary Brower Stotts and Harry Jr. Stotts. He also worked at the Weather Bureau, now the National Weather Service, before taking on leadership roles that linked him to UIC, the North Slope Borough Assembly and the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation.

On the North Slope Borough Assembly, Stotts served from 1978 through 1983 and spent his final two years as assembly president. That role placed him at the center of local decisions during a period when North Slope communities were building the institutions that still shape life in Utqiaġvik and beyond. His leadership later extended far outside the borough.

Stotts represented Alaska on the first Inuit Circumpolar Council Executive Council in 1980, and the Wilson Center biography says he went on to serve three consecutive terms on the ICC Executive Council from 1980 through 1989. ICC later identified him as a former ICC Chair, ICC Executive Council Vice Chair and ICC Alaska President. The organization said he attended every ICC General Assembly except the first one in 1977, a record that reflects how consistently he stayed involved as Inuit leaders pushed for a stronger voice in Arctic affairs.

ASRC said Stotts was part of the first executive council of ICC and later served as president of ICC Alaska, adding that his work helped ensure Inuit voices were heard and respected on the global stage. The corporation extended condolences to his wife, Karoline, his children, grandchildren and loved ones.

Alaska Native broadcaster KNBA reported that friends and colleagues remembered Stotts as a longtime advocate for Inuit rights, food sovereignty, culture and Inuit participation in Arctic policy decisions. Patsy Aamodt said he cared deeply about ensuring subsistence resources such as caribou were available for elders and families without hunters, a concern that tied his advocacy back to everyday life in North Slope communities.

For Utqiaġvik, Stotts leaves behind more than titles at UIC, ASRC, the borough and ICC. He leaves a model of leadership that moved between local survival, cultural protection and international policy, and a generation of North Slope institutions that still carry the imprint of his work.