By Henry Srebrnik, Charlottetown Guardian
When it comes to U.S. President Donald Trump’s territorial ambitions in the Western hemisphere, we have heard quite a lot over the past few months of his desire to acquire Greenland away from Danish rule. Canada, not surprisingly, has made its concern felt. In fact, to drive the point home, a new Canadian Consulate in Greenland’s capital of Nuuk officially opened Jan. 6 in front of an Inuit delegation from Canada, who brought a stern message for Trump: “Back off.”
Those were the words of Susie-Ann Kudluk, vice-president of the Qarjuit Youth Council representing Inuit between the ages of 15 to 35 in Nunavik, the Inuit region in northern Quebec. “We want to come together in solidarity with Greenland to show our support and to say: That land is not for sale,” she stated.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand officially opened the new diplomatic post alongside Mary Simon, Canada’s first Indigenous Governor General, who is an Inuk from Nunavik. Also present were Carolyn Bennett, Canada’s ambassador to Denmark, and Virginia Mearns, Canada’s new Arctic ambassador. As Anand prepared to raise the Canadian flag over the building, she made one thing very clear: Canada stands with Greenland.
Natan Obed, president of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the national body representing Inuit in Canada, stressed that the consulate symbolizes a show of support for Indigenous self-determination. “I mostly am concerned about what this says for all of the allies globally that believe in diplomacy, that believe in Indigenous peoples’ human rights, and also believe in Indigenous peoples’ self-determination,” he stated. He hoped the move will lead to greater collaboration between Canada and other circumpolar countries, as well as a more inclusive approach with Inuit on defence spending, including dual-use infrastructure.
As for Greenland itself, in a 1979 island-wide referendum, a substantial majority of voters on Kalaallit Nunaat (the Inuit name for Greenland) opted for what was called “home rule” within the Danish Kingdom. That meant a parliament of elected Kalaallit representatives handled internal affairs, 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 from Denmark, based on negotiations following a potential future referendum vote. Self-government also allows Greenland to assert and benefit from control over its mineral resources, but not to manage foreign affairs. So while Greenland has self-rule, its Prime Minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, has warned that Trump still wants to control the island and urged people to not become complacent.
But in fact Greenland is still at the moment a colony – never mind the fancy verbiage -- of a European nation, Denmark, a relic of the age of imperialism when the entire so-called “New World” was conquered and its indigenous peoples dispossessed. Apart from Greenland, all the lands in the far north came under British and Russian control. Russia later sold Alaska to the United States, while Canada inherited the remainder of the Arctic north, including its major islands in the Arctic Archipelago adjacent to and west of Greenland.
For 5,000 years, the people and culture known throughout the world as “Inuit” have occupied the vast territory stretching from the shores of the Chukotka Peninsula of Russia, east across Alaska and Canada, to Greenland. Inuit Nunangat is the Inuit homeland in Canada, encompassing the land claims regions of Nunavut, which became a Canadian self-governing territory separated from the Northwest Territories in 1999; Nunavik in Northern Quebec; Nunatsiavut in Northern Labrador; and the Inuvialuit Settlement Region of the Northwest Territories. All together, this is an area encompassing 40 per cent of Canada’s land and 72 per cent of its coastline.
Look at a globe: Were these areas in Canada’s north to form a sovereign nation together with Kalaallit Nunaat, it would become one of the world’s largest nations, astride a gigantic arc over thousands of square kilometres, and rich in minerals and other resources. A homogenous state, it would encompass the vast majority of the Inuit people, and would retain close relations with Canada and the United States. This may be a bold proposal, but most of the world might see it as the final decolonisation of the Arctic. Canada considers the Inuit a First Nation. Why not make it real?
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