Who are Greenland's Inuits whom Trump wants to become Americans

US President Donald Trump is back, and this time, he wants to fulfil his promise to take control of the island of Greenland.

Trump says Washington needs the world’s largest island “for international security”.

But Greenland isn’t as enthusiastic, repeatedly saying their land is not for sale.

A January 2025 opinion poll by Verian showed that 85 percent of Greenlanders do not wish their Arctic island – a semi-autonomous Danish territory – to become part of the United States.

Greenland officials have said they want independence and are open to doing business with the US, which is their main export market, currently depending heavily on Denmark for subsidies despite the belief that the island is home to untapped mineral and oil reserves.

"We are Greenlanders. We don't want to be Americans. We don't want to be Danish either,” Prime Minister Mute Egede said.

So, then, who exactly are the Greenlanders?

For starters, Greenlandic Inuit comprise 88 percent of the population, totalling nearly 57,000 people. Locals refer to Greenland by the name of Kalaallit Nunaat, which means “land of the Kalaallit”, the Inuit ethnic group mostly inhabiting the island's west.

Greenlanders comprise three linguistic groups: Kalaallisut speakers on the west coast, Inughuit speakers in the north, and Tunumiit speakers on the east coast.

The first migrations to Greenland began around 4,500 years ago, with groups moving from Siberia across the Bering Strait and through Canada in successive waves

The last wave of Greenlanders arrived from the Thule culture – ancestors of the modern Inuit – around 1,200 years ago. They brought with them their religious beliefs; Inuit community traditionally practiced shamanism and animism, which entails the belief that everything has a spirit. These beliefs are tied to the arctic ecosystem, particularly the animals living in it, as Inuit activities like hunting and fishing involve inculcating a relationship with them.

Greenland is considering moving away from a subsistence economy and using the minerals and elements available on the island. One such element is zinc, and another more controversial one is Uranium, the mining of which has been the subject of complex debate on the territory.

Those who are for uranium extraction argue it will create more jobs and financial benefits. Still, those against it say the environmental risks to humans and animals are too steep and will require an entire community near the Kuannersuit mine to move.

Yet, the country has a major Danish influence, having been at the receiving end of a missionary mission by the twin-kingdom of Denmark-Norway in 1721.

Hans Egede, a Norwegian missionary, believed the Inuits to be inferior and primitive and practised these beliefs by attempting to “civilise” the locals and infusing Christianity into literary teachings.

In 1751, the Danish kingdom officially declared Greenland its colony, a relatively milder experiment than what they were doing in the Caribbean – “strange paternalism… placing the interests of the indigenous inhabitants above those of economic exploitation” and allowing them self-determination and autonomy.

The hold tightened in 1776, when the Danish government established the Royal Greenland Trade Company, which exercised a monopoly over the island’s trade until 1950.

In 1953, Denmark relinquished its colonial hold over Greenland, only to declare the territory a Danish province.

Under this, they established a Danish-style education system, restructured the national government, and began attempting to modernise Greenland by expanding its cod industry.

In 1979, Greenlanders conducted a Home Rule Referendum, under which they voted in favour of greater autonomy from Denmark, thus establishing autonomous rule and by extension, their own parliament.

Home rule essentially means that Greenlanders have more say over their domestic issues while leaving international matters to Denmark.

Since then, total independence has been a key goal for Greenlanders, some of whom had been hoping to achieve it as recent as 2021.

The 2009 Act on Self Government extended the powers from the 1979 referendum. In addition to recognising the Kalaallit as a people, and expanding its jurisdiction to cover natural resources and justice affairs, the bill also included the right to declare independence from Denmark through a referendum.

But Trump’s move, which could involve military action or tarriffs to enforce, threatens to throw a wrench in their quest for independence.

What remains to be seen now is how Greenlanders will battle an annexation with their independence at stake.

The US military is permanently stationed at the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a strategic location for its ballistic missile early-warning system.