In April 2005, Spectral Q Productions, at the request of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, will create a human aerial art image on the disappearing arctic sea ice to call the world's attention to the devastating impact of global warming on the existence of the Inuit people around the Arctic Circle.

As their culture and environment are quickly vanishing, the Inuit people are putting out a call for humanity to wake up to the devastating impact of global warming.  The Inuit Circumpolar Conference Chair Sheila Watt-Cloutier has invited aerial artist John Quigley of Spectral Q Productions to create a dramatic human aerial image on the arctic sea ice on the edge of the Arctic Circle.  This image, which is intended as a wake-up call for the United States and other countries with large CO2 emissions, will be created by involving a thousand members of the Inuit community and international NGOs.  The resulting global publicity will support the cause of the Inuit and their campaign about the human impact of global warming.  This aerial image will take place in conjunction with 'Toonik Tyme' the annual spring festival celebrating Inuit culture and will include meetings with key representatives of organizations around the world.

A host committee of prominent NGOs, including but not limited to NRDC and Global Green USA will be supporting the event and their representatives will be present.  Additional sponsors, both local and international will support the two-day event, which will be held between April 18 and April 23, when weather conditions are appropriate.  International celebrities will also attend to see first hand the issues of the dramatic impact of climate change on an indigenous culture that dates back over 10,000 years.

Sheila Watt-Cloutier, the elected chairwoman of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, the quasi-governmental group recognized by the United Nations as representing the Inuit, says their biggest fear is not that warming will kill individuals but that it will be the final blow to a sturdy but suffering culture.  "We've had to struggle as a people to keep afloat, to keep our indigenous wisdom and traditions," she said. "We're an adaptable people, but adaptability has its limits.  Something is bound to give, and it's starting to give in the Arctic, and we're giving that early warning signal to the rest of the world."  (See more in the attached article from the New York Times.)

Goals of the Event

1. To convene a broad coalition of international NGOs in support of the Inuit.
2. To honor the Inuit culture and learn about the threat to its survival.
3. To create a dramatic human aerial image on the sea ice, as a call to international action.
4. To communicate through international media the urgency of the issue.
5. To facilitate international relationships and strengthen global cooperation on this issue. 
6. To demonstrate global support for Inuit human rights legal actions.