On a cold northern island, a mantra rises: ‘Greenland is not for sale’

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“We went through all the emotions — at first very funny, very light, then very serious,” said Hansen, who worked with Conan O’Brien when the comedian came to Nuuk in 2019 to shoot an episode poking fun at Trump’s idea of buying Greenland. “Now, with all the international press that’s been here, we’ve been given a voice that’s being taken seriously.”

Like many other Greenlanders, she doesn’t want to be ruled by another colonial power. But she feels Trump’s rhetoric has increased the momentum for independence from Denmark.

The former colonial ruler is accused of committing abuses against her island’s Inuit people, including removing children from their families in the 1950s with the excuse of integrating them into Danish society and fitting women with intrauterine contraceptive devices in the 1960s and 1970s — allegedly to limit population growth in Greenland.

“It’s a historic moment for Greenland ... compared to two months ago when nobody was talking about independence,” Olsen said. “Now, everybody’s talking about it."

A former colony of Denmark, Greenland gained self-rule in 1979 and now runs itself through its parliament. A treaty with the United States, and a U.S. military base in Greenland, also gives Washington say over the territory’s defense.

Greenland is massive — about one-fifth the size of the United States or three times the size of Texas. Its land mass is in North America, and its Arctic capital city is closer to New York than to Copenhagen.

“Denmark is just a middle man in that whole setup. And we don’t need that middle man anymore,” said Juno Berthelsen, a candidate in the election for Naleraq party. He says Trump has given Greenland leverage to negotiate with Denmark. “Our political goal is to have our own defense agreement, so that we connect directly with the U.S. in terms of defense and security.”

His party, he said, aims to invoke an article in a law that would give Greenland increased autonomy and eventually a path to full independence.

Asked to describe Greenland’s moment, he said: “If I had to pick one word, it would be exciting. And full of opportunities.”

In his first term in office, Trump began to talk about acquiring Greenland from Denmark, a longtime U.S. ally. Back in 2019, most dismissed it. But it had a ripple effect.

“It was not taken that seriously back then as it is today. But it was important for Greenland because he, without wanting, did Greenlanders a favor,” said Ebbe Volquardsen, a professor of cultural history at the University of Greenland. “He underlined the value of being in a union with Greenland.”

Greenland’s economy depends on fisheries and other industries as well as on an annual grant of about $600 million from Denmark. When Trump showed interest in buying Greenland because of its strategic location and mineral resources, he highlighted that annual sum as the amount of what other nations would be willing to pay to have a military or commercial presence in Greenland, Volquardsen said. With that, he gave Greenland leverage for more autonomy and possible reparations for abuses committed by its former colonial ruler.

“That was important because the narrative in Denmark until that date … had been that Greenland is receiving this funding as a kind of aid or altruistic gift,” Volquardsen, said.

Life in Nuuk seemed to go on as usual in mid-February, except for a “heat wave.” After weeks of subzero temperatures, it made the capital of Greenland several degrees hotter than Washington, D.C., the U.S. capital.

Large chunks of powder blue ice were blown by winds, blocking boats on the harbor and creating a spectacle for residents who snapped photos under the pink light of a sunset. Some nights, the sky was lit up by spectacular streaks of green and other colors from the northern lights.

You could almost forget that Greenland has become ground zero for a geopolitical showdown — if, that is, you ignored the front pages of local newspapers featuring images of Trump and the ticker tape in downtown with his name and the Greenlandic word “Amerikamiut.”

On a frigid day, a group of kindergarteners in fluorescent vests walked in line behind their teacher as they crossed a road covered in ice and snow. A few blocks away, teenagers played hockey on a frozen pond.

On a hill next to a statue of the Danish-Norwegian missionary who founded the city in 1721, bells tolled, and a recently married couple laughed as family members threw rice on them for good fortune outside Nuuk’s wooden Lutheran cathedral. More than 90% of Greenlanders identify as Lutherans.

After the wedding ceremony, guests converged at their home for a “Kaffemik,” a traditional celebratory gathering where they share coffee and baked goods.

Some Greenlanders say they felt safe while being largely unknown to the world. Now, though, that feeling has dissipated.

Sitting with her husband at a dinner table filled with families chatting and laughing, Tukumminnguaq Olsen Lyberth, said the wave of attention and polarizing comments prompted some friends to delete Facebook accounts.

“We’re not use to having this big attention about us, so it’s overwhelming. Before, no one knew about us. Now, it’s a blitz of attention,” said Olsen Lyberth, 37, a cultural history student at the University of Greenland.

“I feel like this is the longest January,” she said jokingly — in February. “It’s all of it. Everything feels too overwhelming."

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Associated Press journalists Emilio Morenatti and James Brooks contributed to this report.

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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

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