Greenland’s Inuit have spent decades fighting for self-determination
- Written by Susan A. Kaplan, Professor of Anthropology, Director of Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum and Arctic Studies Center, Bowdoin College
Amid the discussion between U.S. President Donald Trump and Danish and European leaders about who should own Greenland, the Inuit who live there and call it home aren’t getting much attention.
The Kalaallit (Inuit of West Greenland), the Tunumi (Inuit of East Greenland) and the Inughuit (Inuit of North Greenland) together represent nearly 90% of the population of Greenland, which totals about 57,000 people[1] across 830,000 square miles (2.1 million square kilometers).
We are Arctic[2] anthropologists[3] who work in a museum focused on the Arctic and its people[4]. One of the areas we study is a land whose inhabitants call it Kalaallit Nunaat, or land of the Kalaallit. Known in English as Greenland, it is an Indigenous nation whose relatively few people have been working for decades to reclaim their right to self-determination.
Arrivals from the west
For nearly 5,000 years, northwestern Greenland – including the area that is now the U.S. Space Force’s Pituffik Space Base[5], formerly known as Thule Air Force Base – was the island’s main entry point. A succession of Indigenous groups[6] moved eastward from the Bering Strait region and settled in Siberia, Alaska, Canada and Greenland.
Approximately 1,000 years ago, the ancestors of the Inuit living in Greenland today arrived in that area with sophisticated technologies that allowed them to thrive in a dynamic Arctic environment where minor mishaps can have serious consequences. They hunted animals using specialized technologies and tools, including kayaks[7], dog-drawn sleds, complex harpoons, and snow goggles made from wood or bone with slits cut into them. They dressed in highly engineered garments[8] made from animal fur that kept them warm and dry in all conditions.
Their tools and clothing were imbued with symbolic meanings that reflected their worldview, in which humans and animals are interdependent. Inughuit families who live in the region today continue to hunt and fish, while navigating a warming climate.
Arrivals from the east
At Qassiarsuk in south Greenland, around the time Inuit arrived in the north, Erik the Red established the first Norse farm, Brattahlíð, in 986, and sent word back to Iceland to encourage others to join him, as described in an online exhibit[10] at the Greenland National Museum[11]. Numerous Norse families followed and established pastoral farms in the region.
As Inuit expanded southward, they encountered the Norse farmers. Inuit and Norse traded, but relations were sometimes tense: Inuit oral histories and Norse sagas[12] describe some violent interactions. The two groups maintained distinctly different approaches to living on the land that rims Greenland’s massive ice sheet. The Norse were very place-based, while the Inuit moved seasonally, hunting around islands, bays and fjords.
As the Little Ice Age[13] set in early in the 14th century, and temperatures dropped in the Northern Hemisphere, the Norse were not equipped to adjust to the changing conditions. Their colonies faltered and by 1500 had disappeared. By contrast, the mobile Inuit took a more flexible approach and hunted both land and marine mammals according to their availability. They continued living in the region without much change to their lifestyle[14].
A center of activity
In Nuuk, the modern capital of Greenland, an imposing and controversial statue[15] of missionary Hans Egede commemorates his arrival in 1721[16] to establish a Lutheran mission in a place he called Godthåb.
In 1776, as trade became more important, the Danish government established the Royal Greenland Trading Department, a trading monopoly[17] that administered the communities on the west coast of Greenland as a closed colony for the next 150 years.
By the 19th century some Kalaallit families[18] who lived in Nuuk/Godthåb had formed an educated, urban class of ministers, educators, artists and writers, although Danish colonists continued to rule.
Meanwhile, Kalaallit families in small coastal communities continued to engage in traditional economic and social activities, based on respect of animals and sharing of resources.
On the more remote east coast and in the far north, colonization took root more slowly, leaving explorers such as American Robert Peary[19] and traders such as Danish-Greenlandic Knud Rasmussen[20] a free hand to employ and trade with local people.
The U.S. formally recognized[21] Denmark’s claim to the island[22] in 1916 when the Americans purchased[23] the Danish West Indies[24], which are now the U.S. Virgin Islands. And in 1921, Denmark declared sovereignty[25] over the whole of Greenland, a claim upheld in 1933[26] by the Permanent Court of International Justice. But Greenlanders were not consulted[27] about these decisions.
The world arrives
A 1944 ad urging U.S. customers to buy shortwave radios touts contact with the people of Greenland as one benefit.
Courtesy of the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum, Bowdoin College, CC BY-NC-ND[29]
World War II brought the outside world to Greenland’s door. With Denmark under Nazi control, the U.S. took responsibility for protecting the strategically important island of Greenland and built military bases on both the east and west coasts[30]. The U.S. made efforts to keep military personnel and Kalaallit apart but were not entirely successful, and some visiting and trading[31] went on. Radios and broadcast news also spread, and Kalaallit began to gain a sense of the world beyond their borders.
The Cold War brought more changes, including the forced relocation[32] of 27 Inughuit families living near the newly constructed U.S. Air Force base at Thule to Qaanaaq[33], where they lived in tents until small wooden homes were built.
In 1953, Denmark revised parts of its constitution[34], including changing the status of Greenland from a colony to one of the nation’s counties, thereby making all Kalaallit residents of Greenland also full-fledged citizens of Denmark. For the first time, Kalaallit had elected representatives in the Danish parliament.
Denmark also increased assimilation efforts, promoting the Danish language and culture at the expense of Kalaallisut, the Greenlandic language. Among other projects, the Danish authorities sent Greenlandic children to residential schools[35] in Denmark.
In Nuuk in the 1970s, a new generation of young Kalaallit politicians emerged, eager to protect and promote the use of Kalaallisut and gain greater control over Greenland’s affairs. The rock band Sumé[36], singing protest songs in Kalaallisut[37], contributed to the political awakening.
Sumé, a rock band singing in Kalaallisut, the Greenlandic language, helped galvanize a political movement for self-determination in the 1970s.In a 1979 Greenland-wide referendum[38], a substantial majority of Kalaallit voters opted for what was called “home rule” within the Danish Kingdom. That meant a parliament of elected Kalaallit representatives handled internal affairs[39], such as education and social welfare, while Denmark retained control of foreign affairs and mineral rights.
However, the push for full independence from Denmark continued: In 2009, home rule was replaced by a policy of self-government, which outlines a clear path to independence[40] from Denmark, based on negotiations following a potential future referendum vote by Greenlanders. Self-government also allows Greenland to assert and benefit from control over its mineral resources, but not to manage foreign affairs.
Today, Nuuk is a busy, vibrant, modern city. Life is quieter in smaller settlements, where hunting and fishing are still a way of life. While contemporary Greenland encompasses this range of lifestyles, Kalaallit are unified[41] in their desire for self-determination. Greenland’s leaders have delivered this message clearly to the public[42] and to the White House directly[43].
References
- ^ about 57,000 people (visitgreenland.com)
- ^ Arctic (www.bowdoin.edu)
- ^ anthropologists (www.bowdoin.edu)
- ^ museum focused on the Arctic and its people (www.bowdoin.edu)
- ^ Pituffik Space Base (www.petersonschriever.spaceforce.mil)
- ^ succession of Indigenous groups (trap.gl)
- ^ kayaks (www.bowdoin.edu)
- ^ garments (skinddragter.natmus.dk)
- ^ CC BY-NC-ND (creativecommons.org)
- ^ online exhibit (tapestry.cyark.org)
- ^ Greenland National Museum (en.nka.gl)
- ^ Inuit oral histories and Norse sagas (www.epoch-magazine.com)
- ^ Little Ice Age (www.britannica.com)
- ^ living in the region without much change to their lifestyle (trap.gl)
- ^ controversial statue (unric.org)
- ^ arrival in 1721 (visitgreenland.com)
- ^ a trading monopoly (trap.gl)
- ^ some Kalaallit families (www.nuukkunstmuseum.com)
- ^ Robert Peary (www.bowdoin.edu)
- ^ Knud Rasmussen (trap.gl)
- ^ formally recognized (arkivalieronline.rigsarkivet.dk)
- ^ Denmark’s claim to the island (nordics.info)
- ^ Americans purchased (history.state.gov)
- ^ Danish West Indies (en.natmus.dk)
- ^ Denmark declared sovereignty (www.worldcourts.com)
- ^ upheld in 1933 (www.worldcourts.com)
- ^ Greenlanders were not consulted (www.politifact.com)
- ^ AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka (newsroom.ap.org)
- ^ CC BY-NC-ND (creativecommons.org)
- ^ built military bases on both the east and west coasts (www.mdpi.com)
- ^ visiting and trading (arcticcollections.bowdoin.edu)
- ^ forced relocation (hudoc.echr.coe.int)
- ^ Qaanaaq (trap.gl)
- ^ 1953, Denmark revised parts of its constitution (www.diis.dk)
- ^ residential schools (www.cbc.ca)
- ^ Sumé (www.thesoundofarevolution.com)
- ^ protest songs in Kalaallisut (www.youtube.com)
- ^ 1979 Greenland-wide referendum (trap.gl)
- ^ internal affairs (www.cvce.eu)
- ^ path to independence (english.stm.dk)
- ^ Kalaallit are unified (fair.org)
- ^ clearly to the public (www.usatoday.com)
- ^ to the White House directly (www.cnn.com)
Authors: Susan A. Kaplan, Professor of Anthropology, Director of Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum and Arctic Studies Center, Bowdoin College
