Greenlandic attitudes towards Norwegians and Danes from Nansen’s icecap crossing to the 1933 World Court verdict in The Hague

• Published in: Études/Inuit/Studies
• Main Author: Langgård, Karen
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Association Inuksiutiit Katimajiit Inc. 2014
• Subjects: Fridtjof; Greenland; Greenland Icecap; Kayak; Norway; Nuuk; Études/Inuit/Studies; Fridtjof Nansen; greenlander*; greenlandic; Groenland; groenlandais; Atuagagdliutit
• Online Access: http://id.erudit.org/iderudit/1028853ar; https://doi.org/10.7202/1028853ar

After Fridtjof Nansen (1861-1930) crossed the Greenland icecap, he spent the winter in Nuuk and impressed the Greenlanders not only by demonstrating his skill and daring in kayaking, but also by his openness to Greenlandic food, culture, and traditions. Later on, when Danes and Norwegians came into conflict over Greenland, Greenlanders supported the Danish colonial power against Norway, while at the same criticizing the Danes for not paying enough respect to Greenlanders during the process. Articles from the national Greenlandic newspapers Atuagagdliutit and Avangnâmioĸ demonstrate that Greenlanders were open-minded towards Norwegians but critical towards Danes. They fully supported the latter as a colonial power against Norway, while never refraining from the idea that Greenland remained their ethnic-national territory, even though for the time being it was colonized by the Danes. The author concludes that Greenlandic agency found in these newspapers is very relevant when negotiating today’s discourse on colonial Greenlanders. Fridtjof Nansen (1861-1930), après avoir traversé la calotte glaciaire du Groenland, a passé l’hiver à Nuuk et a impressionné les Groenlandais par sa compétence et son audace en kayak, mais aussi par son ouverture d’esprit vis-à-vis de la nourriture, la culture et les traditions groenlandaises. Plus tard, lorsque les Danois et les Norvégiens sont entrés en conflit au sujet du Groenland, les Groenlandais ont soutenu la puissance coloniale danoise contre la Norvège, tout en reprochant aux Danois de ne pas avoir montré assez de respect envers les Groenlandais durant ledit processus. Les articles des journaux nationaux groenlandais Atuagagdliutit et Avangnâmioĸ démontrent que les Groenlandais étaient ouverts d’esprit envers les Norvégiens mais critiques envers les Danois. Tout en apportant leur soutien à ces derniers comme puissance coloniale contre la Norvège, les Groenlandais n’ont toutefois jamais oublié l’idée de l’intégrité ethnique et nationale du Groenland, même si, à ce moment-là, ...