Jacob Nielsen STORCH - Professor

Saqqaq - Latitude 70 00 NR - Longitude 051 55 W

200 inhabitants

Taken from an interview in August 2009

My father was a minister, and I was able to follow him to numerous towns. I therefore had the opportunity to live in the four corners of the country, in places which were very different from each other. For many years, the medical service has continued to improve. In the fifties, there was no structure, and each community had to look after itself. Nowadays, our situation is similar to that of Europe.

Hunting is no longer an important part of our economy, because of European constraints, mainly arising from the intensive hunting which takes place on the Canadian coast. These practices never existed in our country. On the contrary, seal hunting is done the same way as in the old days. It is a traditional source of food for us, and one which we share with our dogs.

One can read a lot about fishing in Greenland, but it is not possible to have over-fishing here. Our methods remain on a human scale – we just make a hole, and pass our lines under the ice. There too, we fish mainly for our own personal requirements. The products which you find in the shops only serve to complement what we hunt and fish. Hunting provides a means of barter between people. Greenlanders are very interdependent, and share with others in need. There are enormous numbers of seals, more than before. Each one of them eats two hundred and fifty kilos of fish a day.

Young Greenlanders live in their own times, and are in many respects disconnected from the traditions of the past. For example, our beautiful national costume which is entirely made by hand, is no longer produced by the young Greenlanders. When our old people disappear, it’s very likely that they will take with them the knowledge of many old traditions. The kayak is no longer used in our country, except for sporting demonstrations, and in the district of Thulé, where the local people have established their own rules. There, whales and narwhals may only be approached and hunted from a kayak. All motorised craft must cut the motor when they approach. This practice does not apply in the rest of the country. In the nineteen seventies, the kayak had completely disappeared – they were only found in museums. It’s only since the nineteen eighties that the younger generation, with the help of their elders, have formed kayak clubs. 

Our recent increased independence is a good thing – we no longer have to ask Denmark to take action or to modify a legal text. We are now free to make our own decisions. The process of independence began in 1979, but even so, we always had to justify our requests and wait several weeks – sometimes more than six months – for a reply. The people of Greenland lacked responsibility – our first elections were only held in the nineteen fifties, which is very recent.

We have to learn the logic of democracy, which is new for us. On the other hand, we are the only colony in the world which was able to achieve independence without a war or other violence. 

At Saqqaq, we hadn’t had pack ice since 2003. It has come back this year, and the locals are once again using their dogs. Greenlanders have always been able to adapt to new situations.

No one knows what the future holds for us; we can only imagine that it will be different. There will certainly be new insects, new fish, and one can even imagine a Greenland without ice and without ice floes. When that happens, we will need to adapt. Man is made for that, whether he is a Greenlander or another nationality. It won’t be the first time. We already got used the status of being a colony in 1953.The majority of Greenlanders have a tremendous capacity to adapt, as they are all very close to nature. 

One of the strongest beliefs in Greenland is based on the principle of reincarnation. Each one leaving the world takes with him part of his or her experience, but leaves a part for future generations. In this respect, we are much more developed than other countries in the world, because we come from nature and the land. On your voyage in your kayaks, you certainly felt very small in the face of nature. By having this feeling, you create a much more respectful relationship with her. In this sense, the people of Greenland have always been in harmony with the land. Unlike other countries, we don’t have a purely economic view of our environment. We don’t hunt or fish more that we consume ourselves. We have a desire to preserve the species in the oceans and the animals which surround us for future generations. We don’t need laws and regulations to tell is how to behave – we have had this inner knowledge for thousands of years.