cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/19393
Miles Morrisseau
ICTAn Inuit activist born in Greenland is calling for “calm” as U.S. President Donald Trump escalates his threats to take over her home country, saying Inuit traditions of consensus could play a role in this period of instability in the Western Hemisphere.
Aaju Peter, a lawyer who now lives in Iqaluit, Nunavut in Canada, has been a longtime defender of Indigenous rights and Inuit sovereignty in Greenland.
“It’s very important to stay calm and centered and not act out of fear because that’s what Trump wants us to do,” Peter told ICT. “He wants us to be split and afraid and act in fear. Instead, we should take this, strengthen ourselves and become more calm and not behave the way he is behaving.
“We should be respectful of everyone and we should be diplomatic and we should all speak and support each other with one voice.”
Peter said she is alarmed, nonetheless, that the rhetoric from the Trump administration to annex Greenland is rising and becoming more threatening.
“It is unsettling because we know that Trump can swing from one end to another,” she said. “But I do believe in the rule of law. I do believe in NATO. I do believe in inherent Indigenous rights. I do believe in rights that were signed onto with agreements.”
She continued, “But if that was all to fall, then we would have to create new agreements and new ways of thinking about our reality that we live in right now.”
Threats of military action
Greenland has been a Danish territory since 1814, but the majority of the population is Inuit or Inuit descent. The U.S. has a military base on the island of Greenland. The Pittifuk Space Base was built in 1951, two years after the North American Treaty Organization was established between North American and European countries to counter Russian aggression following World War II.
“U.S., Canada, and Greenland and Denmark are part of NATO and that he’s willing to go against all the agreements in defending the Arctic, attacking people who are your allies, should not even be on the table,” Peter told ICT. “Greenland has had good relations with the United States for decades since the Second World War and what Greenland politicians are wishing and want is a working relationship that worked before and not threatening the people and the country of Greenland.”
Coast in Greenland. Credit: Courtesy of Aaju Peter
Threats of annexation by the U.S., including military invasion, have raised grave concerns among the members of NATO. On Jan. 6, the foreign ministers of the Nordic countries of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Denmark released a statement in support of NATO and Greenland’s sovereignty.
“Security in the Arctic rests on respect for the fundamental principles of the [United Nations] Charter and international law, including the inviolability of borders. The Kingdom of Denmark, including Greenland, is a founding member of NATO, and has historically worked closely with the United States on Arctic Security,” the ministers stated, “including through The Defence Agreement between the U.S. and Denmark from 1951, which offers opportunities for increased security cooperation. We collectively reiterate that matters concerning Denmark and Greenland are for Denmark and Greenland to decide alone.”
Trump told reporters on Jan. 9 that he is not planning on paying off Greenlanders for the land.
“I might talk about that, but right now we are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not,” Trump said. “Because if we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we’re not going to have Russia or China as a neighbor.”
’Threatening people’
The Trump administration’s stated intention to take over Greenland based on “national security” is a rationale that Peter does not believe.
“I think he’s just using that as an excuse to take control of all the minerals and all the riches that Greenland has so that he doesn’t have to buy Greenland,” Peter said. “He can just take all the minerals and oil and everything that he wants. I think he’s trying to sidetrack us or have us focus on something else other than what it is that he really wants.”
Peter said she does not believe Trump is being honest with the world.
“He hasn’t said out loud what it is that he really wants,” she said. “And that’s why the Greenlandic leaders and the Danes would like him to be truthful in what it is that he wants, and maybe there could be some cooperation, cooperation as opposed to threatening people.”
On Jan. 10, Canada’s Foreign Minister Anita Anand posted on social media to X, formerly Twitter, that Canada continues to support Greenland’s sovereignty and will visit Greenland and meet with leaders in coming weeks.
“I spoke today with my Danish and Greenlandic counterparts, Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Vivian Motzfeldt, to reiterate Canada’s steadfast support for the Kingdom of Denmark and Greenland’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Anand wrote. “As Arctic nations, we share a deep commitment to regional security and protection. I will be in Nuuk, Greenland in the coming weeks for the official opening of Canada’s consulate to convey this message and to strengthen our longstanding partnership in the Arctic.”
Peter has been a long-time advocate of Greenland independence from Denmark and does not believe that threats of U.S. annexation are making that any easier. She was featured in the award-winning documentary, “Twice Colonized.”
“It’s adding extra work for the politicians and for the people who are negotiating now. They have to deal with what’s going to happen with Trump and his administration,” Peter said. “But what the political leaders in Greenland are saying, they’re still working on their independence while they are in talks at this time. It may take 10 days, it may take 10 years, but they’re still working on it.”
Peter believes that tactics of intimidation by the Trump administration are intended to stoke fear in the region and that the best response is to build unity.
“We need to all calm down and not be stressed. We need to get together and support each other and talk the way, with respect, that we always do,” Peter said. “I think it would bring some kind of peace.
“We’ve lived here thousands and thousands of years and we ain’t going anywhere,” she said. “We like the cold and we like our culture. We like our language and … when we get together, we should support each other, and that would only bring relief for us.”
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