Will the world’s first sovereign nation be created by global warming? How climate change may make more accessible natural resources the key to financial independence.

by John Bechtel, Freelance writer

one day be the first nation-state with an Inuit There are some who look Danish, but who the world with local business operators, majority, and if so, it may also have achieved speak Greenlandic. and no one could speak more passionately that status because of climate change. And there are a few anomalies like Sarah or convincingly about the joys of life in Woodall, featured here, who was born in Greenland than she does. She loves the land, So who, or what, exactly, Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay in South the outdoors, the people, prefers the cold are these Greenlanders? America, adopted by American parents, to the sticky hot, and says it’s all a matter of The answer to that question is hotly grew up in Washington, D.C., earned a knowing how to dress in layers using the debated in Greenland. For some, it is more right materials. And Sarah’s hair is on fire Sarah Woodall Masters Degree in at George about the language than the land. Some Washington University, got an opportunity about all things Greenland! She wants you to reenland’s got buzz. Greenlanders Greenlanders are dark-skinned with dark to intern in Greenland, fell in love with it visit her and her friends at www.greenland. are well along on the road to self- eyes, the classic Inuit look, and they speak and made it her home. com and whet your appetite for the big five Gdetermination politically. Their culture Greenlandic. There are others who have She is a Greenlander by choice—not by attractions: dog sleds, ice and snow, northern is gaining global recognition, and just this the same coloring but who don’t speak an accident of birth. Today, Sarah represents lights, whales, and pioneering people. year Greenland was named a Lonely Planet Greenlandic. There are some who are 100% Visit Greenland, promoting travel by Top 10 Best in Travel Destination! It may Inuit, but who were born in . coordinating travel professionals around (Continued on page 10)

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The world’s largest island and a coastline longer than the circumference of the earth With the largest ice sheet outside of Antarctica, it should have been named , but that name was already taken. Instead the named it Greenland in the hopes others would come. The world’s largest island, about the size of Mexico, Greenland has a population of only 56,000. On the northwestern corner, Greenland is only 30 kilometers (18 miles) from PHOTO: REDDIT PHOTO: ’s Ellesmere Island, and the EXITEFUN.NET PHOTO: smallest distance between Greenland An inviting view—a beautiful summer day in Greenland National Park. Greenland’s elite Sirius Dog Sled Patrol team, stationed in northeast Greenland. Hvalsø Church, built around 1300, was and Iceland at the narrowest part a church in the abandoned Greenlandic which survives and thrives by means prosperity and self-determination. of the Greenland Strait is about 320 qualifies as a desert. The park is the are still no highways, and travel is done Norse settlement of Hvalsey, in of imports. What does Greenland Extraction of natural resources is kilometers (199 miles), small enough world’s northernmost protected by boat on water and small planes and southern Greenland. The best produce and have to trade in exchange an expensive and dirty process, and that conceivably a could landmass, about the same size as helicopters on land. But for a price, the preserved Norse ruins in the country, for all the goods they import? In 2014, environmental damage is almost a swim the distance—although polar and Spain combined, and is comforts and conveniences of modern the church was the location of the Greenland sent 79.89% of all its exports certainty. There is also the resource bears that occasionally show up in uninhabited except by members of the life are in evidence everywhere. Apart last written record of the Greenlandic to Denmark, valued at US $432 million, curse, the dubious benefit of the “devil’s Iceland usually make most of the trip famed Sirius Patrol. Comprised of six- from the Sirius Patrol and a few other Norse—a wedding in September 1408. but it also receives an annual subsidy excrement”—becoming overly reliant on traveling on ice floes. Why swim when dog sled teams, two men and 11-to-15 areas, dog sledding is largely reserved Today, the church appears much as it from Denmark of about $650 million. a few dominant industries/commodities you can catch a ride? dogs per sled, they reinforce Danish for tourism, as are “native” dress did when abandoned in the 1400s. ______sovereignty over Greenland and patrol performances. With a Gross Domestic Product in which then decline on world markets 16,000 kilometers (9,942 miles) of Because of its geographical isolation, 2014 of $2.44 billion, how long could taking the country down with it. What In spite of the fact that Greenland is one of the cleanest, coastline along the northeastern corner sparse population, extreme climate, and Greenland survive without that subsidy? Faustian bargain is Greenland willing to contraceptives are free to women in most pristine and unspoiled of the national park. There are about 50 lack of easily accessible and exploitable make for nationhood? Greenland, the island has the highest environments left on this planet. supply depots scattered around, but the resources, Greenland and its people Developmental issues ______abortion rate in the world at 50.45% Its landscapes are breathtaking, teams practically live on their sleds. have evolved at a leisurely pace at the Greenland has been steadily Wikipedia lists 74 cities, towns, of all pregnancies. These social issues ethereal, and otherworldly. We Eighty percent of Greenland is edge of history. It just didn’t seem to achieving greater autonomy, with the and settlements in Greenland. are not unique to Greenland, but are do not seek here to romanticize covered by ice sheets, and 89% of be much good for anything other than aid and collaboration of the Danish Almost a third of the island’s pervasive in all parts of the Far North, subsistence hunting and fishing for Greenland, or yearn for a Greenland’s population is indigenous government, and there is a vigorous population lives in the capital and like falling dominoes derive from Inuit. Technology has made rapid a hardy few who followed their prey. the harsh climate and remote existence Rousseauian return to pure nature, independence movement among the city of , and there are only modernization possible, and in all Even today only 1% of Greenland’s land of tiny populations. but to see Greenland as it is, a land Inuit population. There is no question 12 other communities with a but the most remote areas phone and is arable and it cannot grow enough that under all that ice and bedrock and and people undergoing a rapid rite population over 1,000 people. internet are available, although there food to feed its miniscule population, submerged under the icy Arctic waters Early history of passage on their way to possibly 86% of the population lives in the becoming the youngest nation- lie extensive and valuable mineral Greenland is geographically part of resources that could conceivably make few larger towns, and the other North America, but is geopolitically state on the planet. 14% live in tiny and very rural ______Greenland a miniature with an part of because of its Viking enviable sovereign wealth fund instead settlements. history. An early population of ______The world’s of being a financial drain on its parent indigenous Arctic people called the country. As climate change makes Dorset had died off before the Vikings largest national park Greenland went from the lowest extraction of these resources more suicide rate in the world to the highest arrived, but about midway through the Greenland has the world’s largest attainable and potentially profitable in just half a century. The current Viking tenure in Greenland, a tribe national park, almost a million square on world markets, the prospect of suicide rate at 100 per 100,000 is 24 of proto-Inuit migrated to northern kilometers (386,102 square miles), Greenland becoming financially times the suicide rate of the United Greenland from Canada (probably which is larger than all but 29 countries viable also makes nationhood more States, and it is mostly their young Ellesmere Island) following prey in the world. The interior of this park is than fantasy thinking. The economic people who are killing themselves. No animals. Today, we refer to them as the mostly part of the , requirements are the final barrier to one knows the cause for sure, but social Thule civilization. some parts of which are almost two Greenlanders’ self-ownership. problems of high alcoholism, poverty, The Vikings settled Greenland miles thick. Despite that fact, the tip As exciting and tantalizing as this and incest all contribute. In Greenland during a warming period from about of this national park known as Peary EXITEFUN.NET PHOTO: prospect is, Greenland is faced with almost every teenager knows someone 800 A.D. to about 1300. Being farmers, Land, by precipitation measurement, Hiking is a popular activity in Greenland National Park—the world’s largest. some tough trade-offs in the race to who has committed suicide. (Continued on page 12)

1) WINTER 2016 -2017 | SCANDINAVIAN PRESS SCANDINAVIAN PRESS | WINTER 2016 -2017 1! Indigenous Greenlanders believed that the Northern Lights were

Above: A massive iceberg floats buoyantly in Disco Bay. Below right: 1st USAF Arctic Search & Rescue Squad pin belonged dancing spirits to a young man stationed in Greenland during World War II. of children , 1686-1758 West-8 at , both of which are still used as Greenland’s major international airports. was the military code name for returned to Denmark and left the Greenland. The Sirius Patrol began during the war and discovered who had died business and church interests in the several secret Nazi weather stations. Even then Greenland was the PHOTO: WWW.MIXEDMARTIALARTS.COM PHOTO: hands of his son. In time the locals weather factory for Europe, and the Nazis wanted early weather Young Inuit women proudly display their Greenland national costumes. were forbidden to trade with anyone reports for their U-boat assaults on North Atlantic shipping and for at birth. land-based theater of operations. The U.S. Air Force subsequently (Continued from page 11) from working its way loose and falling but Danish merchants. Almost a hundred years after destroyed the Nazi weather stations. they attempted to transplant their out while the prey was being towed A cultural change occurred in Greenland during the war. As that, the Danish/Norwegian union livestock culture along the warmest back to shore. a tiny and isolated community, it had been tightly controlled was dissolved, and Greenland went and greenest coasts of southeastern and by Denmark’s monopolistic trade practices. However during to Denmark in the 1814 divorce western Greenland. They liked their Greenland goes Danish the war, and while it was under the benign but preoccupied settlement (). beef, dairy milk and cheese, but did not About a hundred years after the protection of the U.S., it was opened up to wider influences; Once again, a century passes before understand the thin soil, inadequate Vikings disappeared from Greenland, Greenlanders developed some self-confidence and self- Norway belatedly decides to occupy arable land, and large amounts of King Christian IV of Denmark in reliance and a habit of independent communication they had a small part of eastern Greenland, fodder their cows, sheep, and goats 1605-07, sent expeditions to find out not enjoyed before. Once that genie gets out of the bottle, it is planted the Norwegian flag there on were going to require. They further what had happened to them and to hard to put it back in again. July 10, 1931, and named it Eric the degraded the terrain by stripping it reassert sovereignty over Greenland, In 1946, the U.S. offered Denmark $100 million for Greenland. Red Land. They based their claim on of what trees it had to increase the something the Danes had inherited No one seems to know if the offer was refused or simply ignored. the principle of terra nullius; that the available pasture and for timber. They from Norway. While it seems today It was early Cold War days and perhaps the U.S. wanted to make land had no permanent inhabitants stripped more of the precious topsoil that things moved incredibly slowly Greenland the world’s largest stationary aircraft carrier. and the only people using that section for sod for their houses. back then, it must be borne in mind In 1953, Greenland was made an equal part of the Danish ______of coast were Norwegian whalers. that much of sovereignty in the days of Kingdom, and in 1979, it was granted Home Rule. Greenland Denmark objected, and The Permanent The are still in colonialism was established by the became part of Denmark’s welfare state and Denmark had total Court of International Justice ruled Greenland, now known as the Inuit. mere act of planting a flag and claiming control. It was then and in the early ’80s that Denmark began closing against Norway. To remain grammatically correct, everything in sight as your own, and if small, remote villages and moving the inhabitants into towns. Inuit is the plural noun; the singular no one argued the point for a sufficient In 2009, Greenland acquired Self Rule, which meant that their length of time, it became established as Greenland during World War II noun is Inuk. One Inuk, many Inuit. subsidies from Denmark could remain the same or get smaller, but legal ownership. Similar rules of Greenland severed its relationship ______never be increased. Not surprisingly they voted by a large margin ownership passing by fait accompli, or with Denmark when Denmark was for local rule, but as with a teenager that longs to be free of parents, They began their migration from uncontested trespassing, still apply in occupied by the Nazis a few years later Greenland is learning that with freedom from rules imposed by Alaska, and it took them about 300 some U.S. real estate law. The Danish in 1940. Greenland was occupied by others, comes the responsibility to become self-sustaining. years to make the trip. They are expeditions failed in their intended the United States in 1941, to prevent ______apparently not from the same gene pool purpose. The Vikings had vanished. an invasion by the Nazis. For the As the Thule people learned and the Vikings failed to learn, as the Paleo-Eskimos of Alaska. They In 1721, the Danish/Norwegian next four years the U.S. occupied brought with them the use of kayaks, coalition again remembered Greenland Greenland, but left local government survival is all about adaptability and the willingness to dog sleds and toggling harpoons, an and they sent a missionary, Hans pretty much to the locals. The U.S. innovate, and to leave behind failed policies. innovation that prevented the head of a Egede, on a mercantile/church military built two major bases called ______harpoon, once imbedded into a whale, expedition, and 15 years later Hans Bluie West-1 at and Bluie (Continued on page 14)

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Arctic Ocean Peary Land (Continued from page 13) Fram Here’s a map of the six sections Is Tourism the Solution? Greenland of Greenland and some photos of Tourism in Greenland would seem Strait what you can expect to see and do to be the ideal solution to Greenland’s financial challenges: It has some of the in them! Greenland ______world’s most exotic landscapes and Northeast terrain, and it has unusual offerings Sea Capital Region for every type of traveler, from the Greenland extreme sports adventurer to the nature appreciator, culture lover, globetrotter, Qaanaaq and sightseer. (Thule) ______

Unfortunately, its appeal is also CAMILLA HYLLEBERG PHOTO: its problem. Greenland is unspoiled North Icons like the Northern Lights-inspired Katuaq Cultural Center located in because it is remote and expensive Greenland NUUK, serve as a reminder of the nature that is an ever-present part of life in to get to. Because of the ice, the Greenland. “Katuaq” means drumstick in Greenlandic, but it is an apt name travel season by ship is short. Many Baffin ART MUSEUM OF NUUK PHOTO: for the cultural center as well. The structure houses concerts of all sizes, film of those on cruises do not spend Bay Beautifully-carved walrus tusk performances, conferences, theater and large public events—and, of course, art! much money in Greenland because Upernavik ivory is only one of a “treasure-trove” The center is a popular place for artists from all over the world—mostly, however, they take most of their meals and of Inuit arts and crafts on display in the from the Nordic countries and Greenland—to showcase their creative work. their lodging on board. There are no Art Museum of Nuuk. Every year, about 10 to 12 exhibitions are on display at the center. highways in Greenland and for most Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, is an Arctic metropolis with a small town of the year the only way to travel is Scoresbysund feel, shaped by nature and known for by dog sled (some locations), small its cultural diversity. As a city break in plane or helicopter. Disko Greenland, it mixes shopping, whale ______East Kulusuk watching, skiing, and fine dining into Bay • Kangelussuaq •• When there are not a lot of tourists, Greenland Tasiilaq a cosmopolitan experience with a the temptation is for the locals to Destination backcountry twist where innovative, try to make up the difference with Arctic adaptive people, and trendsetting Sisimiut artists meet office workers, fishermen higher prices, and of course that Circle creates a reputation that discourages Denmark and hunters. • Maniitsoq more tourists. Much of Greenland’s Strait Left: For photography buffs, there’s business structure seems to be driven no better way to experience Greenland than by going on a photography by top-down regulation and direct Capital Nuuk government ownership, which blunts tour—enhancing those extraordinary market pressures to lower costs. One Region memories when you are home. Photo way to reduce costs of traveling to tours are a well-established part of Greenland is to bundle it with travel to adventure travel in the global travel its close neighbor, Iceland. market. This strong and growing

______MADS PIHL / VISITGREENLAND.COM PHOTO: (Continued on page 16) South Atlantic 1$ WINTER 2016 -2017 Greenland Ocean SCANDINAVIAN PRESS | WINTER 2016 -2017 1% (Continued from page 15) Paamiut, Capital Region Destination Arctic Circle North Greenland special interest segment is populated with a host of both, large well-known companies such as National Geographic and Intrepid Travel and small SISIMIUT is 40 kilometers (25 independent local tour leaders and industry specialists. miles) north of the Arctic Circle. The community was founded in 1756, and has approximately 5,600 residents. It is the second-largest town in Greenland. Two other significant communities in the region are MANIITSOQ, situated in an archipelago, intersected by small natural canals, and dubbed the PHOTO: GITS-ICELAND.COM PHOTO: “Venice of Greenland” by the locals, ILULISSAT: Where the iceberg that and KANGERLUSSUAQ, “The Gateway sank Titanic was born... to Greenland”. A rainbow in Sisimiut near the Icebergs are calved out of glaciers Arctic adventures in Sisimiut are the Arctic Circle enhances the already- and each one is unique; a work of art PHOTO: ANGU MOTZFELD / VISIT GREENLAND ANGU MOTZFELD PHOTO: perfect answer to cultural discovery colorful community with its brightly- fashioned by the hand of nature. Two young companions in Paamiut. and pure natural settings. colored homes. PAAMIUT is a well-kept secret of the “Ilulissat” is the Greenlandic word Capital Region. While bigger towns are for icebergs—no wonder the town for tourists who prefer itineraries filled was given the name when you know with all the famous sights, Paamiut that Sermeq calves off about attracts the travelers who want to go 35 billion tons of ice every year. The off the beaten path and gain a different town, with a population of 4,866, is perspective than the rest. situated at the mouth of the Kangia Just like the numerous white-tailed Icefjord, and as of 2004, this area is a eagles in the area, Paamiut stands UNESCO World Heritage site. Ice and An amazing sight—a cruise ship passes under the Nuuk airport runway as a independently as a distinct town. It icebergs are part of the town’s life. passenger plane (far right) prepares to go airborne in this futuristic architect’s is known for its pleasant mix of old It’s also the place where the sled dogs proposal for Nuuk’s combined airfield and shipping port. The transportation and new culture at the cusp of great outnumber the local population. system in Greenland is unusual in that the island has no railways, no inland nature. waterways, and virtually no roads between towns. Historically, the major means of transportation has been by boat in summer and by dog sled in winter. Spending an afternoon riding It’s a good idea for first-time visitors to book a cruise line tour to get around along with Greenlandic sled dogs is Greenland Arctic char fishing is unencumbered, to develop a sense of what this inviting Island is all about. something you won’t soon forget. They for those who want a wilderness have a commanding presence and experience in remote mountain thick winter coats that allow them to valleys with pristine fast-flowing endure winter’s wrath. rivers and clear-water fishing. PHOTO: VISIT GREENLAND PHOTO: is famous as a sea of ice, but in summer, the whales might outnumber the icebergs. These intelligent animals must realize that the silhouette of their tail flukes against mammoth icebergs makes for the perfect photograph!

PHOTO: VISIT GREENLAND PHOTO: is possible, yet In winter, an uncanny amount of less common, in winter. There are

PHOTO: MADS PIHL / VISITGREENLAND.COM PHOTO: snow makes the Paamiut backcountry 3 winter species in Greenland—the Sarah Woodall (in yellow) with friends at top of Ukkusissat, overlooking Nuuk. a snow-sport lover’s dream! Whether beluga whale, bowhead whale, and Hiking is a popular activity in Greenland, with plenty of trails to make each hike randonnée skiing or cross-country narwhal. They are usually seen in a unique and interesting experience. Biking is also a popular sport enjoyed by skiing is your passion, there is enough Sisimiut is an important cruise destination for both expedition vessels and North Greenland around Disko Bay and many throughout the area. In addition, kayaking, fishing, and whale-watching are untouched mountainside for everyone medium-sized cruise ships, linking Nuuk and Kangerlussuaq with the Disko Bay Qaanaaq or in Northeast Greenland. exciting ways to experience this vibrant island—something for everybody! to have their own piece of Greenland. area and Ilulissat further north. DESTINATION ARCTIC CIRCLE PHOTOS: MADS PIHL / VISITGREENLAND.COM (Continued on page 18)

1^ WINTER 2016 -2017 | SCANDINAVIAN PRESS SCANDINAVIAN PRESS | WINTER 2016 -2017 1& (Continued from page 17) East Greenland South Greenland Eighty percent of Greenland’s like much. That’s because, as a nunatak, Northeast Greenland land area—more than 1.7 million the first two miles of Gunnbjørn Fjeld’s QAQORTOQ, with a population of square kilometers (656,373 elevation is buried in ice, and only the Covering an area of 972,000 square kilometers (375,291 square miles), 3,229—the most populated town in square miles), is covered by jagged summit juts out from the ice GREENLAND NATIONAL PARK is the world’s largest. The area is nearly the South Greenland, rises quite steeply glacier, called the Greenland field. combined size of France and Spain and includes the entire northeastern part over the fjord system around the Ice Cap, or more accurately, the ______of Greenland north of Ittoqqortoormiit (Scoresby Sound) and stretches from city. On hot summer days you may be Greenland Ice Sheet. It is one For thousands of years Knud Rasmussen’s Land in the north to Mestersvig in the east. tricked into thinking that there is a sub- of only two ice sheets in the Greenland, like Gunnbjørn Fjeld, The coastline is 18,000 kilometers (11,185 miles) in total and includes both arctic Riviera, a special Greenlandic world, and it has been present has been buried in ice, hidden the highest parts of the Northern Hemisphere’s largest ice cap and the world’s version with icebergs in the bay and for 18 million years. If it were in plain sight. The land of the northernmost area of land. For thousands of years, various Inuit cultures have frolicking whales in the fjord, instead to melt, the oceans of the world Midnight Sun and Northern Lights lived and survived here thanks to the high Arctic species of animal. of sandy beaches and palm trees. would rise by 7.9 meters (26 feet) is finally coming into clearer focus. Today, the only people who live permanently in the vast area are a flooding most coastlines of the ______small group of 40 people over five settlements—the staff at weather and world. Because of climate change and monitoring stations. The is filled modern technology, it is now possible Hunters from Ittoqqortoormiit are the only ones who have regular access with icebergs that calve from for you to experience with all of your to the area. Sermeq Kujalleq, the fastest senses a surreal landscape that, in some

PHOTO: VISITGREENLAND.COM PHOTO: moving glacier in the world—40 ways, hasn’t changed during vast swaths Colorful homes dot the TASIILAQ meters (131 feet) daily. The of geologic time; and in other ways it landscape. With a population of just Ilulissat Icefjord is the same changes under your feet as you stand over 2,000, it is the most populous area as 66,000 football fields. It there. Experience the sounds and the community on Greenland’s eastern reaches 6 kilometers (3, 281 silence of a last spectral frontier. Meet coast. East Greenland is viewed as feet) wide and approximately 55 PHOTO: ACE & ACE / VISITGREENLAND.COM & ACE ACE PHOTO: some Greenlanders. Learn a few words the “face towards the world” by many kilometers (34 miles) long, but Qaqortoq is known for its many in their language. Make some friends. visitors. The regular flight connections it is growing longer as glacier natural ingredients that go into the Talk with your travel professional to Reykjavik via the airport in Kulusuk retreat occurs due to climate Greenlandic cuisine. about designing the most memorable ensure Tasillaq’s accessibility to the change. trip of a lifetime. Greenland is part outside world. As a country, Greenland is PHOTO: MADS PIHL PHOTO: yet unborn. It has great promise, of the Nordic story, and as such, your especially as it gains strength heritage. collaborating closely with those Be a part of history. Visit Greenland who share its values, culture, and history. At 3,688 meters (12,100 feet) Greenland’s highest mountain (and also the highest peak above the Arctic Circle), PHOTO: MADS PIHL PHOTO: PHOTO:EXCITEFUN.COM Gunnbjørn Fjeld, doesn’t look PHOTO: MADS PIHL / VISITGREENLAND.COM PHOTO: Basking in the warm water with a marvelous iceberg view in UUNARTOQ PHOTO: MADS PIHL / VISITGREENLAND.COM PHOTO: HOT SPRINGS in South Greenland. Football fans in Tasiilaq encourage their team at the annual East Greenland football championships.

John Bechtel is a professional freelance writer for the food, wine, and tourism industries; PHOTO: DAVID TROOD / VISITGREENLAND.COM DAVID PHOTO: ghostwriting non-fiction books; and web content strategist for Ultimately, businesses. PHOTO: MADS PIHL / VISITGREENLAND.COM PHOTO: PHOTO: CAMILLA HEY / VISIT PHOTO: GREENLAND.COM it’s the people who You can follow him on his web- Water-travel is a familiar activity in Sculptures by Aka Høegh, carved site www.johnbechtelwriter.com.

PHOTO: MADS PIHL / VISITGREENLAND.COM PHOTO: all areas of Greenland. directly into the rock in Qaqortoq. define a place...

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