"The dream of our people is independence, to maintain our land and our identity" (Upaluk Poppel, Greenlandic citizen, Barcelona, Universal Forum of Cultures, 2004)
I've known this feeling of Greenlandic identity quite well since I first traveled to Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland) in 2002. Since then, I've gone back two or three times a year, because I have Greenlandic family and because it's my second home after Catalonia. But this desire for independence and identity isn't new; it's long-standing; it's existed for a long time.
In 1861 theAtuagagdliutit It became the world's first newspaper published in the native language of a colonized population. This was possible because the Greenlandic language, called Kalaallisut, was formalized thanks to missionaries, which allowed people to begin reading and writing in that native language. Furthermore, the Greenlandic language was supported by teaching, missionary activity, and literary production. This helped eliminate illiteracy among the Greenlandic population, and thanks to the publication of the newspaper and the use of this common language, a sense of Greenlandic identity began to develop during the 18th and 19th centuries, called kalaaleq eitherkalaalleqBy the beginning of the 20th century, this feeling had already spread and strengthened throughout the territory. For this reason, over the years, I have been able to understand and experience firsthand this feeling of being Greenlandic.
I remember on August 28, 2019, I was in the small town of Kulusuk (east slope of Kalaallit Nunaat, Greenland). We saw together the image of a tweet from Donald Trump published on August 19 where he said: "Denmark is a very special country with incredible people, but based on Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's comments saying she would have no interest in discussing the purchase of Greenland... I look forward to rescheduling it in the future!" And then the television network showed, in an interview, the Danish Prime Minister's response to the Greenlandic newspaper. Sermitsiaq: "Greenland is not for sale. Greenland is not Danish. Greenland belongs to Greenland. I firmly hope this will not happen." Then I looked at Justus and from his look and his comments I thought that Greenland had never been for sale and that Trump would suffer the same fate as his predecessors, such as Presidents Andrew Johnson (1860) and Harry S. Truman (1946), who had already tried and failed.
Obviously, Greenlanders are wary of Trump's words and distrust the US president's threats. However, this people long ago decided to express their will through the ballot box. On November 25, 2008, they voted in a referendum to expand their autonomy and thus open the door to future independence. 75.54% voted in favor, and Greenland officially declared its self-government on June 21, 2009. In the latest elections, held on March 11, 2025, brought forward in the face of Trump's claims, the result was even more resounding, with 91.6% of the population voting. And in fact, in the formation of the new coalition government, the only parties that did not take the US president's words unfavorably were excluded from the Inatsisartut, the legislative branch of the Greenlandic Parliament.
The Greenlanders are convinced that sooner or later they will become independent, that it's only a matter of time. They are a very united people, with very clear ideas and a conviction that their present and future depend solely on them. They are people of peace, they don't want conflict with anyone, and they have never had a war in their country. Furthermore, they would have no problem continuing to collaborate with Denmark, although relations between the two countries have cooled considerably in recent years. They also see no harm in working together with the US, so that everyone can benefit together. But always with a tone of cordiality and respect, without threats, and with a clear understanding that the will of the Greenlandic people is sovereignty and that they will continue to fight to maintain their land and their identity.
