The Greenland Self-Government Act: The Pitfall for the Inuit in Greenland to Remain an Indigenous People?

Are the Inuit in Greenland an indigenous people under international law? And what are the consequences of that categorization? This article focuses on the right to self-determination as the Inuit are recognized as an indigenous people; however, the Greenlanders have the explicit right to independenc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Yearbook of Polar Law Online
Main Authors: Mortensen, Bent Ole Gram, Barten, Ulrike
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: Brill 2017
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Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/22116427_008010008
https://brill.com/view/journals/yplo/8/1/article-p103_8.xml
https://brill.com/downloadpdf/journals/yplo/8/1/article-p103_8.xml
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Summary:Are the Inuit in Greenland an indigenous people under international law? And what are the consequences of that categorization? This article focuses on the right to self-determination as the Inuit are recognized as an indigenous people; however, the Greenlanders have the explicit right to independence. The article concludes that the Self-Government Act can be regarded as the pitfall for the Inuit as an indigenous people. So far, nobody has fallen in; however, independence may mean an end to the status as an indigenous people. While the law might be considered relatively clear on this, the self-identification as an indigenous people will most likely not stop overnight.