The Inuit, also known as Eskimos, have been trying to tell the world for more than a decade about the shifting winds and thinning ice that have damaged the hunting grounds Northern people have used for thousands of years. Scientists generally agree the Arctic is the first place on Earth to be impacted by rising global temperatures.

Sheila Watt-Cloutier, nominated with former vice-president Al Gore for a Nobel Peace Prize for their work on climate change, will present their case at a hearing of the commission, which is an arm of the 34-member of the Organization of American States. They have little chance of a breakthrough but hope to score moral and political points.

Scientists say unless developed nations such as the U.S. — responsible for one-fourth of world’s greenhouse gases — do not dramatically reduce emissions within the next 15 years, Arctic ice likely will melt by the end of the century.