Between Ice and Identity

Conversations on Greenland's History and Legacy

The Concept of History

It’s difficult to talk about history. Somehow, I didn’t fully realize this until I became a world citizen. I once believed history was a collection of indisputable dates, events, and facts. But I’ve come to understand that history is a concept that can shift with national perspective, religion, and ethnicity - nuances that are often missing from what we learn in school which often represents only one perspective.

This realization started for me in Asia. When I moved to China some years back, I frequently found myself in homes that displayed maps with a different orientation, with China at the center and with borders drawn differently for India, Japan, the Philippines, and more. It was completely jarring to see this different perspective of things that I had assumed were universally accepted as fact. Later visiting the war museum in Ho Chi Minh City as an American, I was naively surprised to see the Vietnam War portrayed from a Vietnamese perspective - with the U.S. as the villain and Cuba and the Soviet Union as benevolent supporters. All of this to say that history can be quite different depending on the perspective of who is telling it.

The Challenge of Describing Greenland’s History

That brings me to the challenge of describing the history of a place like Greenland. I am an American, albeit one that hasn’t lived in their home country in a long time, with my own cultural constructs and perspectives and experiences that no doubt impact the lens on which I see the world. And with describing history, so much depends on perspective, culture, and deeply held beliefs. Yet, as is always been the case for me, when residing in or visiting a country not my own, one of the most rewarding aspects is learning about the local culture and history. As such, ever since I knew I would be coming to Greenland, I began researching - and I quickly discovered that there isn’t a vast repository of written records. There are several factors for this, but importantly in the Inuit storytelling tradition, history is passed down orally. This means that when we go back to explore history and traditions beyond the current living generations, it is difficult to unpack what happened, with who, and exactly where. As such, universities in Canada and Greenland are now conducting research to distinguish between Canadian Inuit and Greenlandic-originated culture.

View from Safaarsuit, Nuuk, Greenland. 16 February 2025.

This comingling of history and confusion is in part because, long before written records, Greenland’s story was shaped by natural forces and ancient migrations. During the ice age, Greenland was connected to North America via the Laurentide ice sheet - a vast ice sheet of millions of square miles stretching from Greenland to today’s New York’s Finger Lakes. People migrated between Greenland and Canada and thus the stories were intertwined. As the ice receded, new chapters began: the first Inuit belonging to the Saqqaq culture, arrived to Greenland around 4500 years ago, later came the Dorset culture 2500 years ago and then the Thule culture arrived 1000 years ago. Today many Greenlanders trace their roots to the Thule culture.

The Greenland narrative took a Nordic turn between 982 and 1500, when Norse explorers, led by Erik the Red, journeyed to Iceland and Greenland and settled in South Greenland, weaving their tale into the land’s fabric – that is until they mysteriously disappeared. And then after centuries of lost contact with Greenland, the Danish-Norwegian, Lutheran missionary Hans Egede arrived in 1721. Inspired by stories of old Norse settlements, Egede sought and secured permission from the ruler of then Denmark-Norway to establish a mission aimed at exploring Greenland, reasserting colonial claims and bringing Christian religion to the people.

Thus it’s both the ancient indigenous cultures and recent Danish colonial history sets the stage for understanding modern Greenland.

Colonial Legacies & Calls for Justice

As in many places with a colonial past, Greenland’s local culture was shaped by its colonizers. Shamanism gave way to Christianity, intermarriage blended races to a large degree, and Danish was established as the official language for many years, affecting the preservation of Greenlandic Inuit dialects. Even today’s architecture reflects this influence - houses here are built from wood as they are in Denmark, despite the absence of trees in most of Greenland.

It wasn’t until a referendum in 1979 that Greenland began charting its own course, gaining home rule within the Danish Realm. And since then, Greenlanders have increasingly spoken out about the colonial impact on their culture and abuses that once lay hidden. In the last decade the conversation has intensified. A commission inquiry, which Denmark declined to participate in at the time, was launched in 2014 and reported in 2017. The report captured Greenlandic reports of human rights abuses including children being taken from their families and placed with Danish households in the 1950s and ’60s; disabled people institutionalized in Denmark, never to see their Greenlandic families again; communities uprooted from their ancestral homesites through forced relocations. And it is commonly known that salary inequities persisted for decades, with Danish workers earning more than Greenlanders for the same jobs. In one of the first instances of recognition of the claims, in 2022, Denmark paid compensation to 6 people who were taken from their families in Greenland in the 1950s as part of an attempt to build a Danish-speaking elite within Greenland.

The most recent case in the news is a controversy about Danish implemented involuntary birth control measures in Greenland. Between 1966 and 1970, Greenlandic women stated they were fitted with IUDs without consent - including some females as young as 12 years of age, whose young bodies were too small for the adult-sized devices. Many report that they did not know they were fitted with IUDs until later in life when subsequent medical exams revealed the devices were present. There are even claims as recent as 2014 regarding birth control injections given without consent. Based on the claim numbers, it estimated that these practices carried out by the Danish have impacted the fertility of 35% of the female population of Greenland. An investigation is underway – a joint effort between Greenland and Denmark – and is set to conclude in May 2025.

Voices from Nuuk

Here in Nuuk, these topics are discussed openly. Many seem to feel conflicted as they appreciate their connection to Denmark but are also deeply disappointed that there hasn’t been a more direct acknowledgement or public apology.

At the same time, I also meet many Danes here who sheepishly admit that back home, Greenland’s history receives little attention in schools. Thus they say they have been unaware of the history and their own experience and knowledge is formed on the ground in Greenland. This probably isn’t much different than my experience in the U.S. where schools do little to cover Puerto Rico or Guam.

National Pride Swells

Despite these difficult topics, there’s a strong optimism and sense of national pride in Greenland. People are increasingly politically involved and eager to define their future together as a society. Decades of municipal investments are reshaping the landscape of Nuuk including like a swimming sports hall that won the 2005 Olympic Gold medal for Sports Construction, a modern and growing university campus, and a cultural center which is also the winner of several architectural awards. Just in 2023 a state-of-the-art, eco conscious new primary and secondary school was opened in the center of town in Nuuk, a further symbol of progress, celebrated by students and the community alike. With one new airport opened in Nuuk in 2024 and three on the way, tourism is on the rise, with Greenland opening greater access to the world. And Greenlanders are proud and excited to show their country to visitors. While Nuuk may not represent Greenlandic life on the whole, like many country capitals, it remains the most visible and vocal reflection of the nation’s culture and ambition.

Which brings me to the current news of the day - President Trump’s assertions that Greenland should be part of the U.S. These remarks strike many here as just plain odd. Greenlanders don’t wish to be Danish, nor do they want to be American - they want to be Greenlandic. Moreover, many feel concerned these discussions might be to be happening around them, not with them - a sentiment captured by the trending hashtag in Greenland, #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs. Ultimately though, this controversy offers Greenland an opportunity to assert its agenda with Denmark and beyond, ensuring that its voice is an integral part of shaping its future.

View from the harbor of Sermitsiaq mountain peak, Nuuk Greenland. 13 January 2025.

A Living Narrative of Self-Determination

Being fortunate to enough to experience different countries in depth has taught me that history is far more than a list of dates and events - it’s a living narrative shaped by the diverse perspectives and experiences of people. And in Greenland, while the colonial past and its painful legacies still influence daily lives, there’s a vibrant movement of pride and self-determination, and Greenlanders are actively defining their future.

I hope this has helped you understand Greenland’s past and present a bit better – at least as I perceive and understand it through my own research and experience. And perhaps this has provoked you to think a bit about your own historical narrative and to consider varying perspectives when contemplating history - because no history is complete until all voices are heard.

Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed in this blog post are my own personal reflections and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer or any other organization. Insights are based on personal interactions, conversations with individuals, and news reports from reputable sources. This article is not intended to provide a comprehensive view of the Danish-Greenlandic relationship and legacy but merely to highlight some key points of historical significance as well as the more timely conversations and topics that have been unfolding in recent years.