On Monday, April 30, the Artic Voices Tour comes to Minneapolis.

The Arctic Voices Tour is a group of three Arctic indigenous leaders who will share their stories in key venues as they press the United States to act immediately to curb global warming and protect all of its citizens from the impacts of climate change.

While polls show that a majority of Americans now believe global warming is happening, they still do not believe that it will affect them directly, nor do they understand that only a narrow window of opportunity remains to ensure the long-term well-being of our planet and society. Arctic indigenous peoples' ability to show the human face of global warming, and to personalize the impacts of climate change, resonates with audiences and moves them in a way that no recitation of scientific evidence could achieve.

The speakers include: Olav-Mathis Eira, the vice president of the Saami Council in Norway, and Sarah James, a Neetsaii Gwich'in Indian from Arctic Village, Alaska. Sheila Watt-Cloutier, the former chairwoman of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference from Nunavut, Canada, and a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, will be sending a video segment to share at the events.

There will be two free events. A global warming policy forum is scheduled to run from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the Cowles Auditorium in the Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota. A global warming community forum is set to run from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Westminster Presbyterian Church. 

For more information about global warming, go to the Web sites of these event sponsors:

- Arctic Council Indigenous Peoples Secretariat, www.arcticpeoples.org;

- Circumpolar Conservation Union, www.circumpolar.org;

- Minnesota Natural Legacy Campaign, www.mnlegacy.com;

- or Will Steger Foundation, www.globalwarming101.com.

For more information about the Arctic Voices Tour, go to www.circumpolar.org/arcticvoicestour.htm.