Aqqaluk Lynge pores over a map showing the ice surrounding the island of Greenland and scoffs at U.S. President Donald Trump’s claims America should “own” the territory.
“So, if you dream of a golf course, oh, you’re welcome,” he taunts, “You can do that in the middle of the ice cap. It’s three kilometres thick. We can help you and bring you there by dog sled, and I’m sure that you will survive.”
One of the founders of the pro-Greenlandic independence party Inuit Ataqatigiit, Lynge is also the former president of the Inuit Circumpolar Council.
He’s keenly aware that the U.S. threats have thrust the debate over Greenland’s sovereignty into the global spotlight.
“We’re in the middle of generational change,” says Lynge, an influential leader on the island, during a recent interview at his home at the edge of the capital.
“What you see today is something that we, our generation, built up. And now the young people have Greenland for themselves,” he says.
Lynge was once a fierce advocate for separation from Denmark but now believes the governance structure developed over the years offers the best of both worlds.
In 2008, Kalaallisut, an Inuit language on the island, was made the territory’s official language. Greenland has its own parliament and prime minister and controls its own education, environment and fisheries sectors, as well as mineral and oil revenue.
“We have got the best possible agreement between a former colonized people and our colonizer,” says Lynge.
“Within that, there’s much possibility to expand our political and economic future. We have a right to speak our own language. Also, we have a right to all living and non-living resources,” he explains.
Former Greenlandic politician and past president of the Inuit Circumpolar Council at his home in Nuuk, Greenland.
Braden Latam/Global News
Trump may have dropped his threats to take the island “by force,” but his threats have reignited the debate around Greenland’s independence.
Roughly 90 per cent of Greenland’s population is Inuit.
Just how many want the nation to become independent of Denmark appears to be shifting since Trump’s threats first began last year.
A new poll conducted last month for The Copenhagen Post found that 62 per cent percent of Greenlanders don’t want to leave, compared to a survey last year that found 56 per cent Greenlanders polled supported independence.
A 2009 law allows the island to declare independence from Denmark through a referendum. Such a referendum has never been held.
“Over 40 years and we are not closer to being independent,” says Nuuk resident Arnanguak Stork, sitting in the apartment she shares with her husband and adult daughter. Artwork by her grandchildren and old family photos cover the walls.
Stork worries that Greenland and Denmark’s united response to Trump’s annexation threats is overshadowing the Inuit push for sovereignty.
“They [politicians] just speak to the whole world like they are Greenland, saying, ‘Yes, we agree on everything that happens from outside,’” she says.
“We do not agree,” she adds, “And the Danish TV, they always talk about Donald Trump. We are tired of hearing about him. And we’re tired of listening to Danish people.”
With a population of only 57,000, the territory relies on the Kingdom of Denmark for financial support, particularly to fund social programs. In Greenland, the risk of poverty is higher than in Denmark.
Single mother Dorothe Qvist says living in Nuuk is expensive and that affordable housing is difficult to find.
Heidi Petracek/Global News
Single mother Dorthe Qvist says life in Nuuk is expensive and that affordable housing is hard to find.
But she still firmly believes that her people would benefit from an independent government.
“My dream is for Greenland to be independent because I’m really proud of my land and my people in Greenland. I know we could do that,” she says. “It’s good working with Denmark now, but in future … I want to be independent.”
The relationship between the Greenlandic Inuit and Denmark has historically been complicated and remains so.
Denmark’s colonial legacy of forced relocations and sterilizations, cultural assimilation, and family separations has caused long-lasting trauma.
A 2023 report from the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples urged the Danish and Greenlandic governments to address the harms of colonialism and racism.
It also called for more inclusive consultation with Inuit when developing laws and policies.
Arnanguak Stork still hopes Greenland will someday become independent from Denmark. “I want to feel it when I am alive,” she says.
Heidi Petracek/Global News
Stork believes life for her people won’t improve until they have full independence.
She says her adult daughter, who lives with her, can’t afford an apartment, and says Inuit, particularly in Nuuk, face racism when trying to find employment.
Asked if she believes she will see independence in her time, Stork’s eyes fill with tears.
“I want to feel it when I am alive,” she says, pausing to stop herself from crying.
“We want to feel independent in here,” she adds, putting her hand to her heart.
Greenland’s political parties all support independence, but each differs on how quickly that should happen.
Inuit like Stork, who have already waited decades, now worry it won’t happen at all.