‘Inuit Means People’: Aqqalu Jensen

NUUK, Greenland — Greenland has a much deeper culture and history than what is being portrayed in the media, and Aqqalu Jensen, an Inuit fisherman, spoke about what makes his homeland so impressive. From the people to the way of life, he talked about what it means to be Greenlandic.

Jensen grew up in a town that he described warmly, despite the cold and snowy winters.

“People know everybody,” Jensen said, “and it is happy. On weekends, you can just go to the bar and listen to live music.”

He spoke about the outdoor hobbies available to him when he was living in Greenland, such as fishing and hunting. He said how he gun-hunts reindeer but works as a fisherman now on a Danish boat.

“In the summer,” Jensen said, “we fish East Greenland and in winter, the west. It’s good money, easy money.”

Jensen described Greenland as a spiritual, peaceful place. The connection to the land is a huge aspect of their culture.

“Greenland has never been at war,” Jensen said. “Greenland is very peaceful and it’s full of really spiritual people. In winter, there’s a lot of many days, it’s very dark. So, we just enjoy talking together and having stories. Connection to the land, too. It’s very important when you are a man. You hunt sometimes, but you know, it’s very normal.”

He said many people also don’t seem to know or understand that through Denmark, Greenland has free healthcare and education. As well, being a Danish territory, Greenland uses the Danish Krona for their currency.

The Greenlandic Danish relationship is complicated, because while they have a long, intertwined history, many people in Greenland have ancestorial roots from both nations.

“My name is Jensen,” Jensen said. “It’s a very typical name. I’ve been in Denmark many times, and I live in Denmark. For me, it’s Greenland and Denmark, It’s a good relationship.”

Being from Greenland, but living in Denmark, Jensen goes back and forth between the countries a few times a year, mostly around the holidays.

The relationship between Greenland and America is also good, in the eyes of Jensen. However, that does not mean he agrees with President Donald Trump or his attempts to buy the country.

“I think he’s crazy,” Jensen said. “I hope very soon there will be an end to all of this Trump time. That would be great. We have good relations with America. There has been military around, but this time it’s Trump, and It’s stupid.”

While Jensen is fine with American presence, it does cause some feelings on unease.

“Greenland has always been a peaceful place where we keep to ourselves,” Jensen said. “Of course, we still stay with Denmark. But in the future maybe we will have to be more independent like in other countries, like the U.S., Iceland, and Norway. I hope it will be peaceful. I just don’t like Trump saying, ‘I want to buy Greenland.’”

Despite this, Jensen doesn’t think independence is truly achievable for Greenland, due to how vast the landscape is compared to the small population.

“Greenland has always thought ‘we can do [independence],’” Jensen said. “We just want our land, and to control everything. There are so many mines and oil in Greenland, but there are only 50,000 [people] in Greenland. It’s not so many, but the land is very huge. Also, because politics are bullsh*t.”

While Greenland’s name stems from European roots, Jensen spoke about what it means to the Inuit people and those who inhabit the land.

“It’s the European language, Greenland,” Jensen said. “The Vikings come here, Erik the Red, they call it Greenland. But we still call for Inuit, Kalaallit Nunaat. It’s our land. They call it Greenland, but it’s not green. But in Inuit it means people.”

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This story is part of a semester-long investigative reporting project into Greenland’s people, history, and culture. It was created by an advanced reporting class in the Journalism, Advertising, and Media Studies program at UW-Milwaukee. Other stories from the project are available on Edge of the Arctic: Greenland, the Land of the People.

This work was made possible through the support of MPC Endowment Ltd., the philanthropic affiliate of the Milwaukee Press Club, and a private donor.