Trump’s threats cast an ominous shadow over Greenland’s icy fjords

The sun rises over the snow-capped mountains of the Nuuk fjord and we walk through one of the world’s last wild frontiers.

But there are shadows gathering here and in all the other frozen spaces of Greenland.

Since Donald Trump is about to become the president of the United States, his refusing to forcibly evict Greenland it echoes through conversations across the island.

“You’re welcome to visit him for sure,” said the captain of the converted fishing boat taking us east. Realizing that he needs to do business with people of all political stripes, he asked not to be named, but used a phrase I hear over and over here.

“Greenland belongs to Greenlanders. So, Trump can visit but that’s it.”

The water is calm as we enter the isolated village of Kapisillit – about 40 people – where a few hunters are out shooting seals.

It’s -16C (3F), and the wind chill feels like -27C.

But near the harbor I meet the elder of the local church, Kaaleeraq Ringsted, 73, a grandfather, who is out drying the fish caught in the fish-rich waters near his door.

When I ask about President-elect Trump buying or invading Greenland, he just laughs. Then his voice became serious.

“It is not acceptable for him to say this. Greenland is not for sale.”

He then told me how he learned to fish and hunt here with his father and grandfather, and that he wants to preserve this life for his children and grandchildren.

As we crossed the harbor, the boat groaned in the broken ice. Two eagles are sitting on a rock, checking for fish in the clear water.

We were heading to the farm of Angutimmarik Hansen who herds sheep and hunts seals, wildfowl and rabbits.

All of his sheep’s winter feed needs to be imported from Denmark, a reminder of how the harsh climate defines life chances here.

Inside his front door is an array of hunting rifles. He notices me looking at them.

“Those in case of an attack,” he joked.

But his attitude to bellicose talk from Mar-A-Lago is far from relaxed.

“What a stupid person in the world like Trump,” he said. “We will not sell Greenland.”

This small farm is 3,000 miles (4,828km) from Florida where the incoming US president held his infamous press conference last week.

“But Trump is not the USA. We can work with the people of the USA,” said Mr Hansen.

The Trump effect went overboard with Arrival in Greenland of Donald Trump Jrhot on his father’s heels. He flew to the capital Nuuk on the family’s 737 plane – Trump Force One – and stayed for four hours and thirty-three minutes, meeting other locals and offering only polite remarks.

“It’s been incredibly nice to meet people, and people have been very happy to meet us,” he said, after lunch at a local hotel. “Dad, he will have to come here.”

Then it was back to the tropics of Florida.

Trump Jr was welcomed by local businessman Jorgen Boassen, who previously campaigned for the president-elect.

He told local media that he is a “big fan” of Trump and that “Yes they are interested in our country, and they are welcome to come and see what our country is like. It’s about openness to trade and cooperation.”

The city of Nuuk is the northernmost capital city in the world. It has a thriving community and a strong press. And there is satisfaction here that Trump’s comments have moved the debate about Greenland’s independence forward on the international stage.

There must be a Greenland that is not a colony for anyone, say campaigners like Kuno Fencker, Member of Parliament with the governing coalition and a member of the local Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and Security.

We meet by the harbor, under the bronze statue of Hans Egede, the 18th century missionary who is widely seen here as the man who paved the way for colonization.

“Donald Trump is a politician,” Mr Fencker said.

“He’s a tough businessman, and we know his talk, and that talk is something we’ve been used to since 2019, and it’s just a matter of talking to a peer, a partner, how we can solve things here in the Arctic and also in NATO.”

Mr Fencker offers a central argument for pro-independence campaigners.

“What is necessary here is that Greenland as an independent country should negotiate directly with the United States and not Denmark for us.”

Independence from Denmark can come at a huge financial cost.

Greenland receives subsidies from Copenhagen worth about a fifth of its GDP every year. Mr Fencker suggests, like other leaders here, that the island will negotiate with the US and Denmark for support.

“We are not rational about this. We need support for defense, security and economic development. We want a sustainable and independent economy.”

The editor of the local newspaper Sermitsiaq, Maasana Egede, admits that she was worried about the threat of Donald Trump’s power, but wants to see how the truth matches the words.

Regarding freedom, Mr Egede is fed up with the debate he sees as divided in the media – in this country and abroad.

“We talk a lot about whether it should be about independence or not about independence. But there is this whole story in between, that people want independence, but not anywhere. There is a standard of living that must be maintained. . There is trade that must be maintained. There are ways of life that must be maintained.”

There is an expectation that at some point – not in the near future – there will be a vote in favor and Denmark will accept the result.

The island’s Prime Minister, Mute Egede, spoke at a joint press conference with the Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, after Donald Trump’s recent comments.

“We don’t want to be Danish, we don’t want to be American, we want to be Greenlandic,” he said. The Danish Prime Minister was careful not to offend anyone, least of all the incoming US president.

“The debate about Greenlandic independence and recent announcements from the US show us a lot of interest in Greenland,” he said. “Events that created many thoughts and feelings for many in Greenland and Denmark.”

Ms Frederiksen knows very well how deep emotions run in Greenland. Memories of injustice and discrimination are still fresh here among the indigenous Inuit people.

Scandals such as the campaign to insert IUDs (Intrauterine devices) to prevent pregnancy in thousands of Inuit women and girls in the 1960s and 70s, strained relations between Greenland and Denmark.

It is not known how many of these procedures are carried out without the consent of the parties involved, but the numbers are high. The aim was to reduce the population of Greenland.

Maliina Abelsen was the minister of finance in the government of Greenland, and now she is a consultant for companies and organizations working on the island. He has worked for UNICEF Denmark and led businesses in Greenland, such as the marine animal group, Royal Greenland.

Ms. Abelsen believes that much more needs to be done to address the injustices of the past.

“I think a lot of people are saying, maybe even the Danish government and the government have said, ‘Oh, you know this happened in the past. This is many years ago. How are we going to be responsible for that? Time to move on.’

“But you can’t move forward if you haven’t healed, and if you haven’t allowed what happened to you. That’s a job we have to do together with Denmark, not something Greenland can do alone.”

And despite her high profile in society and business, Maliina Abelsen says that when it comes to racism – for example jokes about Inuit people – “she can speak for many people in Greenland, that we have all seen that in our lives”.

Issues of self-governance and dealing with the past are closely intertwined.

Now the intervention of Donald Trump has put both before the eyes of the world.

But the message we have heard – from the far reaches of the fjord to the capital Nuuk – is that the fate of Greenland must be decided here, among people whose voices have long been ignored.

With additional reporting by Adrienne Murray and Kostas Kallergis.