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GREENLAND
The population inhabiting the vast east and west coast of the
island of Greenland numbers 57,000, 88% of whom are ethnic
Greenlanders (Inuit). Greenland has a very diverse culture, with
sheep farming and agriculture in the south and traditional hunting in the far north and along the coastline. Fisheries and tourism are the most important means of income and Greenland is
continuously searching for new ways to sustain the country, for
example by developing the use of renewable resources such as
hydroelectricity.
Greenland is a self-governing region within the Danish realm.
The first Danish colonial settlement was established in 1721
close to the current capital, Nuuk, on the west coast. In 1953,
Greenland became an integral part of Denmark by law and, in
1979, Home Rule was established following negotiations between Greenland and Denmark. Since then, Greenland has had
its own parliament and government responsible for most internal matters. Greenland also has two representatives in the Danish parliament, elected in Greenland and representing Greenlandic political parties.
I
n 2008, legislative and structural changes set the political scene while
a cultural movement developed among the younger generations of
Greenlanders.
The Greenlandic-Danish Self-Government Commission had been
drafting a report on a new status for the relationship between Greenland and Denmark since 2001. In the early summer of 2008 the commission finalized its work and, on 6 May, the report of the Greenlandic-Danish Commission on Self-Government was handed over to the
Premier of Greenland and the Prime Minister of Denmark. Greenland
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will now change its status from Home Rule Government to Self-Government, while remaining part of the Danish Realm.
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Namminersorneq – Self-Government
Based on the report of the Commission, the Greenland Home Rule Government formulated the Draft Act on Greenland Self-Government. The
Premier of Greenland, Hans Enoksen, had already announced that a referendum on self-government was to take place on 25 November 2008.
During the work of the commission on self-government, which consisted of eight Greenlandic and eight Danish parliamentarians, as well
as experienced civil servants from both countries, there was a consensus
among the Greenland delegation with regard to recommending selfgovernment. Among the Danish delegation only one party, the Danish
Peoples Party (Dansk Folkeparti), did not want to recommend self-government, the rest of the Danish delegation being in favor of the new
draft act. However, the consensus among the Greenlandic parties did
not last. During the summer of 2008 one Greenlandic party, Demokraatit,
decided to recommend a “No” to self-government. The fact that there
was now an opposition to the many Greenlandic parties in favor of selfgovernment made the campaign period even more exciting and very
dynamic. Many people in Greenland became active in the debate, and
the Internet in particular was used for debates on the subject.
The Home Rule Government established a Self-Government office,
which traveled, together with politicians of both the “Yes” and the “No”
side, through Greenland convening information meetings on the Draft
Act on Greenland Self-Government for the public. The ‘No’ party argued that the draft act was too weak and needed to be re-negotiated,
while all the other Greenlandic parties stood by their support for selfgovernment.
New Status – New challenges
On 25 November 2008, Greenlanders voted “Yes” to self-government,
with 75.5% voting in favor of this new status and 23.5% against. The
referendum brought almost 72% of the electorate to the polls, an historically high number. Only around 1% of the votes were invalid or
blank. Greenland will declare its new status on 21June 2009.
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With self-government, Greenland will be legally strengthened. Furthermore, Greenland will have the right to secession, which means
that whenever the people of Greenland decide to, Greenland can declare independence from the state of Denmark. The Draft Act on Greenland Self-Government also declares that Greenlandic is to be the official language of Greenland, while Greenlandic, English and Danish are
to be taught in schools. According to the draft act, Greenland can take
over new areas of responsibility, one of which is subsurface resources
such as minerals and oil. However, the income from subsurface resources will still be shared with Denmark. Denmark will also still be
responsible for giving Greenland a block grant, but the amount is now
fixed at 3.2 billion Danish kroner (500 million USD), which will be adjusted each year according to the price index. Previously the block
grant had to be re-negotiated each year. Only if or when Greenland’s
income exceeds double the amount of the block grant, 6.5 billion kroner, can Denmark end the block grant arrangement.
With the new status of self-government, Greenlanders will be recognized as “a people” according to international law, while still having a
majority of “indigenous people”, Inuit, among the population: these two
different political categories position Greenland in a special way in the
world’s political arena. As a people with an indigenous culture, Greenlanders are part of the indigenous world, claiming the right to live according to the traditions of Inuit life. As a people, Greenlanders will have the
right to self-determination and to define the status of their country on
their own. The two categories will merge as the people of Greenland move
into a new era with a modern culture and new traditions.
Still, with the European desire for a halt to sealskin imports and the
reluctance of most of the Western world to accept Greenland’s whaling, the Greenland government will continue to face challenges in the
international arena for years to come.
Whenever Greenland decides to take over new areas of responsibility, it will have to find its own funding for these. During the Home
Rule era, Denmark was responsible for providing the necessary funding for areas under Greenlandic responsibility. In years to come, Greenland will negotiate internally and with Denmark regarding the 32 areas
which, according to the draft act on self-government, can be taken
over. Self-government is thus a process that will take many years.
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Four new municipalities
Internally in Greenland, 2008 was also a year of change. Following a
decision by the Greenlandic Parliament in 2007, 18 municipalities were
merged into four municipal administrations. The result of this decision
is that there is now one large municipality in north Greenland, Qaasuitsup Kommunia, consisting of eight towns and many more settlements, one municipality in mid-Greenland, Qeqqata Kommunia, consisting of Sisimiut and Maniitsoq and the smaller settlements, one municipality, Kommuneqarfik Sermersooq, that spans the inland ice consisting of the capital of Greenland, Nuuk, Paamiut south of Nuuk and
the towns and settlements in east Greenland, and one municipality in
south Greenland, Kommune Kujalleq, consisting of three towns and
many settlements and sheep farms there.
In April 2008, Greenlanders were called to the polls to vote for their
new municipal boards. Each board has “geographical” members,
which means that each town is represented on the new board. While
the new structure is designed to ease the work and lessen the costs for
the municipalities, many Greenlanders will have to adapt to new administrations far from their hometowns.
The re-structuring of the complex administration of such large municipalities took shape in the second half of the year and, on 1 January
2009, the new structure came into force.
Four new mayors now each have very large municipalities with
diverse populations and environments to run. With its 660,000 square
kilometers, Qaasuitsup Kommunia is the largest municipality in the
world by area, followed by Kommuneqarfik Sermersooq, which has an
area of 635,000 square kilometers.
Anersaarta – Let the spirit breathe
While all of these legislative changes were occupying the minds of
most politicians and the Greenlandic press, a group of Greenlandic artists and “cultural activists” started a new movement called Anersaarta.
The movement emerged as a result of the cancellation of plans to open
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a Greenlandic Design School. The cultural activists wanted more attention to be paid to Greenlandic culture, and more government funding
for cultural projects.
In the fall of 2007, Anersaarta arranged a demonstration in the form
of a parade: a young Greenlandic actor was dressed as a minister in
black dress with white collar, and a small coffin was placed outside
Parliament Building to symbolize the death of Greenlandic culture.
Around 300 people participated in the demonstration, many of them
dressed in colorful costumes symbolizing the will of the people to be
active in the cultural matters of Greenland. Inuk Silis Høeg, one of the
artists behind the movement said that:
We think that the conditions in Greenland for art and culture are too
poor, and that art and culture can be crucial to the strengthening of the
self-identification of individuals as well as for a people. Art and culture
are the inner mirrors of the society and can contribute to the prevention
of social problems by dealing with people’s emotions, souls and
thoughts.
The demonstration took place while the Greenland Parliament was in
session. Many parliamentary and government members met the demonstration outside Parliament Building and answered the people’s
protest. The Premier of Greenland immediately promised that one million Danish kroner would be put aside for an official day of culture,
and declared 28 September as such. Later, the Greenland government
added 3.5 million Danish kroner for artistic and cultural projects to the
2008 budget.
In 2008, at least two conferences on Greenlandic culture were thus
held. Furthermore, some of the initiators of Anersaarta produced a series of TV talk shows on culture, which were shown on KNR, the national television station in Greenland. The popular shows, called
Qapuk, “foam”, dealt with Greenlandic culture, Greenlandic art and
the importance of the Greenlandic language.
The cultural movement set the stage for Greenlanders to re-define
Greenlandic culture, combining traditions with modern ways, and embracing the global while staying true to the local way of life.
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References
Greenland Home Rule Government www.nanoq.gl
Greenland municipalities www.kanukoka.gl
Anersaarta cultural movement www.anersaarta.org
Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa, Greenland national broadcasting company www.knr.gl
Interview with cultural activist and artist Inuk Silis Høeg, February 2009
Sara Olsvig has an MSc in Anthropology. She is an Inuit from Greenland
and currently works as secretary to one of the Greenlandic MPs in the Parliament of Denmark. She is also active in the Inuit Circumpolar Council, ICC
Greenland.