Annonse
Greenlandic researcher: "We are too humble as a people to own Mother Earth"
For Inuit communities in Greenland, owning land has never been the norm. What does it mean for them now that someone else wants to own it?
Published
The Greenlandic researcher Arnarak Patricia Bloch i says she felt relieved after Donald Trump’s speech in Davos last Wednesday.
The speech has been interpreted as him calling off the threats to take Greenland by force. Instead, Trump now wants to meet with the secretary general of NATO to negotiate a peaceful Greenland agreement.
First they laughed, then they took it seriously
Bloch admits that it has been difficult to take the American president seriously.
"He said years ago that he wanted to buy Greenland. Back then, we just laughed," she says.
Annonse
Recently, however, she and her family realised that they have to take it seriously.
Bloch is currently working on a PhD at the Danish National Institute of Public Health, where she researches suicide prevention among young Inuit in Greenland.
In an op-ed on forskning.no's debate page Forskersonen, she criticises the debate about Greenland – that it revolves around strategic resources, not the people who live there.
She writes that maps, military bases, and minerals now dominate the conversation.
Bloch emphasises that her own work centres on suicide prevention in Greenland and on ensuring that Greenlanders are understood and respected.
“In Greenland, suicide prevention isn't only about healthcare services, but about belonging, relationships, culture, and about how we talk about each other and ourselves,” she writes.
Not common to own land
Much of the debate about the ownership of Greenland, sparked by Trump's statements about wanting to buy or take over Greenland, conflicts with Greenlanders' own view of owning land. Bloch explains that it's not common to own land in Greenland.
"We are simply too humble as a people to own Mother Earth," she says. "That's why it feels strange when someone talks about changing ownership."
She also points out that being welcoming and to receive those who come to visit is deeply rooted in Greenlandic culture.
"Hospitality is a big part of our cultural heritage. And it was exploited by Denmark when they colonised the country," she says.
Back then, no one asked Greenlanders what they wanted either.
"We’re afraid our hospitality will once again be taken advantage of, and that decisions about our future will be made without us," says Bloch.
Wishes we talked about Greenland as a society
Annonse
After countless headlines in international, Norwegian, Danish, and Greenlandic media, Bloch says she wishes there was more talk about Greenland as a society.
She wants to read about villages, everyday life, local businesses, and ordinary people – what Greenland is actually like as a society.
"I miss the human side of it," she says.
Most viewed
Bloch worries that an agreement about Greenland could be signed without involving the population.
"It's the Greenlanders who will have to live with this," she says
High suicide rates
Arnarak Patricia Bloch's research focuses on a serious social problem in Greenland. Greenland has one of the highest suicide rates in the world.
Between 40 and 60 Greenlanders die by suicide each year, according to the Danish National Institute of Public Health. That corresponds to a suicide rate of about 88 per 100,000 inhabitants. In Norway, the figure is 13, according to the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.
The reasons for this are many and complex, says Bloch.
From research on suicide in Greenland, she knows that Denmark's colonisation and the modernisation of the 1950s and 60s contributed to many losing their sense of belonging.
"Many end up feeling like strangers in their own country," she says.
The Danes built apartment blocks and factories
When Greenland was modernised, the Danes built apartment blocks, schools, kindergartens, churches, and factories. Greenlanders were expected to abandon traditional Inuit lives as hunters and fishermen and adopt Danish ways of living.
"No one used to live in fixed places in Greenland – they lived where the animals and food were. Because of churches, schools, and factories, they suddenly had to live in one place. That's been hard for many, especially men," says Bloch.
She explains that in Greenlandic culture, men tradtionally returned from the sea with food for their families.
"He was like a king," she says.
A different life in the factory
Many of them were now supposed to become factory workers. Just getting to work on time was difficult.
"Before, it was the weather that decided when the men went out to sea, not the clock," says Bloch.
They were let go if they were late three days in a row, and suddenly many found themselves without jobs.
"When they felt neither a sense of belonging nor that they were useful, many lost the meaning of life," she says.
For many, it ended in alcohol abuse.
What helps?
In her research, she has looked at both individual and collective trauma.
"I try to shed light on how lives changed during colonisation and on the historical traumas that still affect generations in Greenland," she says.
Bloch has previously worked with suicide-prevention courses and interviewed more than 1,000 professionals.
Now her focus has shifted to understanding what helps people survive suicide attempts.
"What was it that helped them?" she asks. "We know a lot about the statistics and risk factors. But there has been little research on protective factors – what actually helps people move forwards."
Inuit stories
Bloch is now collecting personal stories from Greenlanders who have survived suicide attempts.
"These stories can be shared with people who feel they no longer want to live," says Bloch. She says the stories can help people regain hope and rebuild their lives.
The data collection has already been completed, and she will now start analysing it.
Bloch says that one theme stands out: nature.
"Nature is incredibly important. Being able to see far into the distance, breathe fresh air, and feel the wind on your face does something to people," she says.
———
Translated by Alette Bjordal Gjellesvik
Read the Norwegian version of this article on forskning.no
Related content:
Subscribe to our newsletter
The latest news from Science Norway, sent twice a week and completely free.
