November 22, 2021

Today is a dark date in the history of Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland).

Today, November 22, is the date in 1954 where United Nations voted for adopting resolution 849(IX) which also accepted that Denmark should no longer report on Greenland as a Non Self-Governing Territory, thus effectively accepting that Greenland should be considered completely integrated into the the Danish Realm.

A very creative story telling from Denmark to the UN was presented from the beginning of the work committee that lead to the vote at the General Assembly. A few listed here by Eske Brun, September 22, 1954:

• Hans Egede came to Greenland with the principle that had since been the basis for Danish work in Greenland that the Greenlanders should enjoy the same fundamental rights as all other peoples (Eske Brun, sept 22, 1954)
• From its discovery in the 10th century Greenland it had always been connected with one of the Nordic realms (Eske Brun, sept 22, 1954).
• The population of Greenland was a mixed Scandinavian-Eskimo origin (Eske Brun, sept 22, 1954)
• Local self-government had been instituted in the 1850'ies and since been extended again and again

Denmark also managed to include in the resolution 849 (IX) that the General Assembly

• Takes note that when deciding on their new constitutional status, through their "duly elected representatives, the people of Greenland have freely exercised their right to self-determination".
• "The General Assembly further "Expresses the opinion that, from the documentation and the explanations provided, Greenland freely decided on its integration within the Kingdom of Denmark on an equal constitutional and administrative basis with the other parts of Denmark".

This was simply not true. The population was simply not asked and furthermore, the annexation of Greenland in 1953 was not giving the population a possibilty to vote for secession at a later time. This only came after 56 years of massive cultural and economic de facto colonization (G-50/G-60 development programs). When asked why the population was not asked, Mr. Lannung who was heading the Danish UN delegation at committee the time gave the answer that "the result would not have been different if there had been a referendum" and "there is nothing in the constitution that allows for secession once you are in the realm". In other words: The people should not be given a chance to become independent.

Denmark was even praised by many countries at the time for its unselfish commitment to bring Greenland forward to a richer life in full equality(!).

However, fact remains that Danish is the power language outside the local political scene (visible in public network analysis), suicide rates are among the highest in the world. It is not hard to hypothesize that there is a link between this and the fact that these numbers grew among the 1st generation born after 1953. The need for a much clearer identity led to our Home Rule Act in 1979. Again, it is not difficult to hypothesize that this just contributed to a display of the continued inequality among the Danish speaking and the non-Danish speaking and led to even more frustration (and suicides). With the Self-Rule government in 2009, the ability to actually vote for a secession was finally implemented. But an important part of the potential income from natural resources, which forms an integrated part of our plans for independence, are shared with Denmark by means of the same law, and that after almost 70 years, it is a lot easier for Denmark to convince people in Kalaallit Nunaat that Independence is an impossible dream.

It could be argued that Denmark is well on its way to commit cultural genocide. The Danification continues and is even accelerating. Somehow Denmark seems to have established a narrative where the responsibility for all the bad things that happen in Kalaallit Nunaat can be placed with Kalaallit now that we have a Self Rule government. Basically, Denmark is still - almost 70 years after - able to keep the same story as Lannung told the General Assembly after the vote on 22nd November 1954:

194. We Danes have felt it a responsibility and a privilege to lead the people of Greenland to a richer life and to full equality and participation in the government of our country. United we will work for the further advancement and development of the Greenland community. All my compatriots, whether they live in Greenland or in other parts of the Danish Realm, are profoundly convinced that the new order will be a blessing and a benefit to the people of Greenland.

Read the entire minutes from the General Assembly vote here. (from page 8). The UN digital library can be searched for all the other documents relating to the committee work and other documents relating to Greenland.

What is the important lesson here? The important lesson is to not dwell too much on the past, but to use it to fuel our efforts to create a society, where we are not a minority in our own country, and where we use our identity to build a nation, by ourselves and for ourselves, and use this image of our nation in our interaction with the rest of the world, as Kalaallit and with the values that we have as Kalaallit. This we can do already now. We do not have to wait until after we have gained Independence, but it will help us to get there.

Live to be be Kalaallit and live to be Kalaallit now! Sapinngilagut!