Alaska Natives — part of the indigenous peoples who inhabit North America’s Arctic regions, like the Greenlandic Inuit — face a wide range of economic, education and health disparities, including some of the highest rates of alcoholism and suicide, and the lowest life expectancy in the U.S.
In the 1970s, U.S. Congress passed a law that directly gave Alaska Natives financial compensation and land rights, and their political influence has seen a boost in recent years. But they were also historically subjected to segregation, including boarding schools that sought to forcibly assimilate indigenous children, and Jim Crow laws.
As global powers seek to expand their reach and footprint in the Arctic, mineral-rich Greenland — which hosts a U.S. military base — is coveted for its strategic security and trade value.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who rebuffed Trump’s first proposal to purchase Greenland in 2019, calling it “absurd,” reiterated Tuesday that “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders.”
“There is a lot of support among the people of Greenland that Greenland is not for sale and will not be in the future either,” she added.
As tensions mount, Frederiksen called a meeting of Danish party leaders Thursday to discuss Trump’s threats, according to AFP.
Greenlandic Prime Minister Múte Bourup Egede said Tuesday the island’s focus was on independence.
“While others, including Danes and Americans, are entitled to their opinions, we should not be caught up in the hysteria and external pressures distract us from our path,” he said.
