Politicians in Washington, DC are debating the annex of Greenland based on “abstract ideas,” such as “defense,” “security,” and “critical minerals,” according to Northern Journal, who states the issue in Alaska is personal.
Ancestral Ties to Greenland
Alaska has ties to the island that goes back for centuries. It began when Indigenous island ancestors migrated from Western Alaska. Today, many Alaskans count Greenlanders as friends, colleagues, or kin who enjoy a closely related language and cultural similarities, according to Northern Journal.
Alaskans are calling for solidarity against actions being threatened by their own president. Ayyu Qassataq, an Anchorage-based Inupiaq and Yup’ik advocate said, “We are witnessing, on a world stage, harm against our family. It is disturbing on a visceral level.”
Qassataq has a consulting business promoting Indigenous self-determination and well-being. She has traveled to the island often to work on Intuit healing and advocacy efforts and teach course on Inuit culture at Ilisimatusarfik, a university on the island.
“Greenlanders are having very real conversations” about the political future of the island as well as their personal safety, in light of the U.S. President’s militaristic rhetoric. Qassataq also said, “Because we care so much for them, we feel deeply what they’re experiencing and what their fears are. Though we are separated by hundreds of years, false borders and different colonial influences, they are our family.”
Working Together
Scientists in Alaska work alongside Arctic islanders studying glaciers, oceans, and climate change. Policymakers from both areas have sat next to each other for international forums such as the Arctic Council. Some critics have asserted the president’s rhetoric could strain those relationships, including U.S. geopolitical alliances.
Greenland hosts a population of 57,000 people. Most of the population are Inuit and their ancestors came from Alaska 1,000 years ago. The people of the island and the Inupiaq people of Alaska share the same root language and many of the same traditions in art, music, and food, according to Northern Journal. Inuit people are a broader group encompassing Indigenous people of multiple Arctic regions.
Solidarity for Security and Safety for Greenlanders
“We are essentially the same people that just speak different dialects of the same language,” stated Tim Argetsinger, an Inupiaq from Northwest Alaska who lives in Greenland’s capital, Nuuk.
Argetsinger told Northern Journal many Greenlanders are selling their homes to move off the island because of the uncertainty of their future. “The sense of fear and anxiety is very palpable,” he said.
In the past week U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s threats have escalated. Inuit leaders in Alaska have passionately pleaded for the support of those living on the Arctic island who overwhelmingly oppose American annexation.
The Alaska branch of Inuit Circumpolar Council, a transnational body representing Indigenous people in Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Russia, released a political statement affirming the “support and solidarity” with the Arctic islanders and told the Unites States to “respect and uphold international law and rules-based order that honors diplomacy and Inuit rights.”
The Inuit Circumpolar Council was “founded to unify Intuit across the Arctic and to promote Inuit rights and interests at the international level. Consistent with this purpose and the ICC press release, a peaceful Arctic through mutually respectful cooperation, dated Jan. 27, 2025.
“Alaskan Inuit reaffirm our support and solidarity with out Greenlandic relatives, who are asserting that decisions concerning Greenland’s political future, governance, and international relationships must be made by the people of Greenland themselves.”
“We stand with our Greenlandic relatives,” asserted Marie Greene, who is an Inupiaq elder from Deering who is the president of ICC’s Alaska branch.
Source:
Northern Journal: ‘Harm against out family’: Alaska’s indigenous leaders call for solidarity with Greenlanders amid Trump’s threats
Featured Image Courtesy of Bernard Spragg. NZ’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Informative!