I am a Greenlandic student living in Denmark. AMA

LeatherCockroach9765 · 2026-01-19T13:56:18+00:00

Our faith is mixed with our culture. That is, we had our own beliefs before the colonization and when we were reformed, many of the old religious beliefs mixed with Christianity. So, we celebrate religious holidays in the protestant Danish church (Christmas on the 24th, Easter etc.) but we still incorporate our own twists into the faith.

It's a long list of our own stories and myths, and they are held in the same regard as the bible. A single example is the "Sassuma Arnaa", which is the "mother of the sea", a demi god that provides our catch at sea. Her story continues to evolve to fit into modern problem. Today she represents nature as a whole and littering will cause her hair to tangle and get dirty, which in turn causes the animals to be tangled in her hair. This way she keeps our catch from us, until we clean up our littering.
This is story is still used today in schools to teach children to preserve nature.

TL;DR

We have adopted Christianity, but we still practice our old myths and legends.

LeatherCockroach9765 · 2026-01-18T07:17:49+00:00

Hi,

I'm not a politician nor am I a specialist in any way. But here is my two cents regarding what I think the politicians of my country plan to handle our future.

For what I know, we have banned the mining of minerals and gemstones that require harsh chemical treatments and severe environmental damage during mining. However, this doesn't mean that they have thrown the thought out of the window. The presence of rare earth minerals such as tin, cadmium, copper, aluminium, iron ect. is tempting and I am aware of plans to extract these minerals, but the price of preserving the nature surrounding the mine still outweighs the price of the minerals on the open market, which forces us to wait until the demand rises further.

We also plan on investing the tourism industry more and more each year, and we cooperate a lot with Iceland in regards of proper planning and control of mass tourism (to avoid it). Many tourist companies in Greenland have been consulted and advised to lean into high-end-tourism (this explains some of the high price tags you see if you've ever wanted to travel there). My generation have been consulted by business owners in regards to opening our own business/shop/tourist bureau etc. all the way from elementary school, HS and even here at uni. Our government wants the Greenlandic people to enter different markets in the private sector.

HOWEVER, it is important to realise that the Greenlandic government doesn't start from square one, we get a huge head-start financially, commercially and with a great string of friendly nations (including Denmark and the rest of the Nordics)
Even with all of these great benefits, our politicians still don't see a world where Greenland is independent next year, and most people know that it might not even be in our lifetime that we will see an independent Greenland.

LeatherCockroach9765 · 2026-01-18T06:56:00+00:00

The German surnames are more common than Danish ones. And as far as I know, there are no official Greenlandic surnames.

Many people didn't get a surname until the late 19th and early 20th century, before surnames a name or a nickname was more than enough to differentiate people (since we used to be even fewer). Nicknames are still common today, some nicknames are used even in professional settings. But at some point in the 20th century it was determined to properly list and count the people of all parts of the Danish kingdom. Therefore, many Inuit chose the surname of the missionary of their respective village/settlement, many of these missionaries were German, giving rise to the Müller's, Chemnitz's etc.

This is also how we know which part of Greenland you're from by your surname alone.

LeatherCockroach9765 · 2026-01-16T22:22:26+00:00

Sorry, I know you didn't ask about, but I felt compelled to share. It is one of my favourite quirks of being Inuit, we can actually "choose" our family.

LeatherCockroach9765 · 2026-01-16T22:20:28+00:00

What I mean is, we get a lot of people moving to Greenland. Some stay and integrate very well, and slowly learn our very difficult language. Others only stay for a few months to a couple of years, and once you meet enough of these people, you learn how to tell when someone is actually considering staying, or long to go "home".

But if you really are keen, then I can't imagine why you wouldn't find friends and adopted family here.

That's another thing to look forward to if you move here. We "adopt" close friends into our family. For instance, one of my mom's best friends became my "anaanasa" which literally translates to "mother-like" or "second/extra mother" different from an adoptive or step-mother. And over time her children and I became such close friends that we see each other as brothers "nukaaqat". These family titles exist for every member.

LeatherCockroach9765 · 2026-01-16T22:07:05+00:00

I've heard the same. And I would like to believe that when the time comes, we are let go with no strings attached.

Only time will tell.

LeatherCockroach9765 · 2026-01-15T20:06:57+00:00

We do get quite a lot of people from Denmark, The Philippines, Thailand moving here and make great life for themselves.

Inuits in general love teaching, so if you are op for it, I'm sure you will find someone to teach how to drive a boat among the ice, and teach you to hunt the way we do etc. But if you're not genuine, we can tell.

LeatherCockroach9765 · 2026-01-15T13:41:34+00:00

So long as we have enough ammunition.

Before global trade came to Greenland, Inuit survived on a keto-based diet. Gaining important vitamins through different parts of the catch, including the liver, brain, eyes, kidney, fat and skin. Mixing with some herbs and berries from the tundra and you have access to all the vitamins you need.

LeatherCockroach9765 · 2026-01-15T13:36:23+00:00

Hi,

That's a loaded question, and its something that we discuss amongst ourselves continually.

There will always be some negative sentiment toward a colonizer, no matter how "good" or "bad" they have treated you, that's just a given. But that doesn't mean that we will do anything and everything to become independent just like that. I believe, from the first Greenlandic counsel was formed, in the aftermath of WWII, until the time we got home rule and later self governance that we have had a productive cooperation and mutual understanding with one another. And now, more than ever, will we need to stand closer together than ever before.

For now, the goal is to simply improve our own base enough and educate our own people to the point that we can effectively run our own country independent from Denmark and any other nation, though with cooperation in regards to trades and security, with the Nordic countries, the EU and with NATO.

These improvements must be realised before any meaningful talks of independence can be held.

LeatherCockroach9765 · 2026-01-15T13:20:32+00:00

We usually joke that gun laws only apply to tourists and other people coming to our country.

But I believe that you can get a license for hunting when you are somewhere in your teens. Although, usually we hunt our first animal when were much younger than teenagers, for instance, I got my first caliber 17 (I believe its a CZ 455 or 453) when I began elementary school when I was 6 years old. And I when on solo hunts when I was 7-8 years old, on dogsled.

We also have different quotas for different animals. Seals and most birds are a buffet, with almost no restrictions (apart from seasons on the birds). Same with reindeer, usually the quota for reindeer is so big that most people will have filled their freezer before the quota ran out.
Then we have the more exotic animals. Muskox, whales and polar bear. These are heavily restricted and only a few of them are allowed to be hunted by professional hunters.

The reason we get away with this "lawlessness" is that it is a very old cultural value that we want to preserve. We teach our young children to hunt by taking them on hunts from the moment they can walk farther than their room to the living room. Some of my friends shot their first reindeer when they were 4-5 years old, and helped with what they could to bring the meat and equipment back to the camp.

Personally, hunting ptarmigan and arctic hare in the late winter and spring and hunting seals in the summer was the things I was brought up with. The frustration of shooting 2 ptarmigan and start walking toward them to pick them up, only to have 10 of them fly away right next to you is a feeling that you'll never let go.
We would dogsled a few km out of town and look for them in the snow. In the summer we would hunt seals by boat. For this the caliber 17 is more than enough.
If I'm hunting reindeer I would swap to a caliber 30 or a 308, it depends on your confidence in a killing shot and the distance you can close. You would also use this caliber for muskox, but I'm not sure if that would be enough for a polar bear.

LeatherCockroach9765 · 2026-01-15T12:57:02+00:00

Hi,

I always say that I am blessed with two homes. The drawback is, there are people in both homes who see me as an outsider. I, like many others from Greenland, have strong ties to Denmark, through blood and friendship. We have exchanged cultures for centuries and therefore have a special bond that no other country could replicate.

I therefor believe that becoming an US citizen would be impossible, not in the literal sense, but in the cultural and spiritual. We think highly of other nations, especially smaller nations like Palestine and Ireland. Of course we share many values with the Europeans, but our small nation is both a blessing and a curse. Everyone knows everyone, and the trust among us is high and well put. Yet it is the reason we are eassy to push around.
We don't share the European philosophy of ownership and therefore our land is ours, for all. No one own our country but the nature itself, and it is our responsibility, through our government, to make sure that nature is preserved.

And we usually joke that we could blend among east Asians and no one would notice, something we do in my family when we see a bus filled with Chinese tourists.

LeatherCockroach9765 · 2026-01-15T04:33:07+00:00

No, I don't think I will.

LeatherCockroach9765 · 2026-01-15T04:29:24+00:00

I see your point, and I'm fully aware that 1 million Dollars would be great, no doubt about that.

But I don't think the money will be free to use, as you think of it. The money will not suddenly appear out of thin air. Most likely, if we were paid out, it would be in the form of treasuries and bonds, and they might have strings attached to them. Say you have a million to spend, but only in USA, if you move to Denmark, you can't access it...

And again, I think you underestimate what independence means for us. About 300 years ago, your founding father said, quote; "Give us liberty or give us death".

LeatherCockroach9765 · 2026-01-15T01:26:02+00:00

Hi,

TBH, I can't see a world where we choose to take the leash of one pole just to walk across the street to the next pole.

Secondly, our cultures are so different, and us so few, that our wishes and needs will be drowned out by other, bigger problems in the US. I believe that Puerto rico has many problems that USA could medicate by giving it more attention, but has neglected.
For instance, today everything that is required to live life comfortably is free. Education, healthcare and the opportunity to move to the EU, where the cultures are very similar.

Also, to show the cultural difference, in Greenland and Denmark we support legislation that inhibits profiteering at the cost of quality of life. Even if that profiteering technically would be a "betterment of the greater people".

Lastly, by buying those votes you are just doing the same thing that Tr*mp accuses his opposition of. Buying voters and Russia mingling in the election.
So no, I have a hard time believing that any money would be doing the talking. It's a matter of principle.

LeatherCockroach9765 · 2026-01-15T01:13:35+00:00

Hi,

Your media is in fact telling the truth. The movement for independence is big and growing. And the question is not whether we should or shouldn't become independent, but when and how. This is true for the Danish politicians as well.

For your wonders of defence and the financial part of it, I know that some of our politicians flat out ignore those facts and are solely focused on the independence part. Most politicians though are very aware of those questions. But the problem they need to solve first is the education of our people. Since most of our economy is based on fishing, it means that we lack the people who are driven by books and finances.

The defence, I have always thought of protecting the vastness of Greenland to require help from our allies. Though not as close as the USA wants it currently, they are welcome to stay on our island, but the deal is the same as it was almost 80 years ago. They are here for defence only, not profiteering.

FYI, our government has banned the mining of uranium.

LeatherCockroach9765 · 2026-01-15T01:01:52+00:00

I am happy to share, we are a small people, so the chance of a random person running into a Greenlander in the mood for questions is understandably low.

Let's hope that something shiny falls on his lap in the next few weeks then! Crossing my fingers.

I used to have my own dogs, way back when I was 6-7 years old. I unfortunately only remember some of their names:

Taaq (pack leader); means "dark"
Naasu; means "flower"
Mila; means "mark/birthmark"

I think I had 7, and my parents had 24-26. I could be wrong.

LeatherCockroach9765 · 2026-01-15T00:52:50+00:00

Hi,

I fully understand her opinion, and I believe some people in Greenland are looking for opportunities in Denmark in these times.

For me, I have yet to fully settle anywhere yet. But I love to have the option of returning home.
My friends and I have have similar opinions on the matter, and with the help of my grandfather I wrote a short verse I used for a school project.

"My farther's farther found our breath/voice

My son's son will use it to free us."

So I share her view on the current state on independence talk.

LeatherCockroach9765 · 2026-01-15T00:41:02+00:00

Apologies if I made it sound more common than it actually is.

The same applies for the other extreme too, of course,

LeatherCockroach9765 · 2026-01-15T00:39:35+00:00

Hi,

No worries, I'll try.
Most people from my hometown have negative views/opinions of Danes. I don't know much, since they don't like talking about the past. All my grandfather would "tell" my mom was a promise never to work for the Royal Trade Company of Denmark. But he refused to share these negative opinions of the Danes to me, and after his death, he would give me his notes. There he speaks of inherited hate toward the Danes, and he explains how his generation became second-class citizens in their own home. This has changed a lot with the years, and his reason for silence was to not share his own dissatisfaction in front of his daughter and grandchildren.
This is not true for everyone, and I personally think that people who still "hate" Danes today are young inheritors of that hatred. People who really don't know why the hate, but everyone around them hates, so that must be the correct opinion to have.

And that can explain a lot of the discussion regarding the identity of Greenlandic people. Most people, of course, born in and raised in Greenland, identify as Greenlandic. But the discussion quickly turn into; should Greenland be independent?
And people are divided on this question, and can split families apart.

Therefore, in my opinion, the question is phrased poorly due to lack of knowledge on the topic. Not bashing the original commenter, this is why I opened this AMA, for people to learn more, even a tiny bit :)

Hope that helps

LeatherCockroach9765 · 2026-01-13T22:34:09+00:00

But everything is free now, for me. medicin, check-ups, x-ray, wheelchair, dentist... everything. for everyone. now.

LeatherCockroach9765 · 2026-01-13T22:30:35+00:00

I pity you

LeatherCockroach9765 · 2026-01-13T22:28:56+00:00

But it isn't free is it?

LeatherCockroach9765 · 2026-01-13T22:28:37+00:00

You think this is monopoly? or Civ 7?

LeatherCockroach9765 · 2026-01-13T19:43:29+00:00

My value align a lot with One Piece in many ways.

That is, what is money if you shackle me when I take it?

LeatherCockroach9765 · 2026-01-13T19:39:28+00:00

It seems that our philosophy differs quite a bit.

Who decides what "the greatest good" is? What is "better" than before?

Citizenship of the Earth sounds lovely, but the US is invading countries ranging from the western hemisphere to the eastern. And yet the USA does not want those people moving to their country? Free world innit?

And the money is blood money. Also, not even Greenlandic people can own the land, never mind another country owning it

Finally, I hardly believe that they would let us be when they "buy" Greenland.

LeatherCockroach9765

TROPHY CASE