BBCThe sun rises over the snow-capped mountains of Nuuk Gorge as we travel along one of the world's last land frontiers.
But there are shadows gathering here and across the rest of Greenland's frozen expanses.
With Donald Trump about to become President of the United States,… He refused to rule out the seizure of Greenland by force It resonates through conversations all over the island.
“He is certainly welcome to visit us,” says the captain of the fishing boat that was transporting us east. Recognizing that he needs to engage with people of all political stripes, he asked that his name not be used, but he used a phrase I hear over and over here.
He added, “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders. So Trump can visit it, but that's all.”
The waters were quite calm when we reached the isolated settlement of Kapsilet – population about 40 – where a few hunters set out to shoot seals.
The temperature is -16°C (3°F), and with the wind chill it feels closer to -27°C.
But near the harbor I met a local church elder, Kalerak Ringsted, 73, a great-grandfather, who was drying cod fillets caught in the fish-rich waters next to his front door.
When I ask about President-elect Trump buying or invading Greenland, he laughs at first. Then his tone becomes serious.
“It is unacceptable for him to say that. Greenland is not for sale.”
Then he tells me how he learned to fish and hunt here with his father and grandfather, and how he wants to preserve this life for his children and grandchildren.
When crossing the bay, the boat passed through broken surface ice. Two eagles sitting on a rock, searching for fish in the clear water.
We were heading to the farm of Angotemarek Hansen, who raises sheep and hunts seals, wild birds and rabbits.
All winter feed for the sheep needs to be imported from Denmark, a reminder of how the harsh climate limits the possibilities for life here.
Inside his front door is a rack of hunting rifles. He notices me looking at them.
“This is in case of an invasion,” he joked.
But his stance on the hostile rhetoric emanating from Mar-a-Lago is far from relaxed.
“What a stupid person in the world like Trump,” he says. “We will never sell Greenland.”
This small farm is located about 3,000 miles (4,828 kilometers) from Florida, where the incoming US president held his infamous press conference last week.
“But Trump is not the United States,” Hansen says. “We can work with the people of the United States.”
Trump's influence has gone far beyond Donald Trump Jr. arrives in Greenlandfollowing his father's statements. He flew to the capital, Nuuk, on the family's 737 plane — Trump Force One — and stayed there for four hours and thirty-three minutes, meeting some locals and offering only polite remarks.
“It was very nice to meet people, and people were very happy to meet us,” he said after having lunch at a local hotel. “Dad has to come here.”
Then it was back to the sunny climate of Florida.
ReutersTrump Jr. was greeted by local businessman Jurgen Boassin, who once campaigned for the president-elect.
He told local media that he is Trump's “biggest fan” and that “of course they are interested in our country, and they are welcome to come and see what our country is like. It's also about being open to trade and cooperation.”
Nuuk is the world's northernmost capital city. It has a thriving civil society and a strong press. There is some relief here that Trump's comments have thrust the debate about Greenland's independence into the international arena.
There must be a Greenland that is no one's colony, say activists such as Kono Venker, a member of parliament for the ruling coalition and a member of the local parliament's foreign affairs and security committee.
We meet at the harbour, under the bronze statue of Hans Egede, the 18th-century missionary who is widely seen here as the man who opened the way to colonialism.
“Donald Trump is a politician,” Mr. Venker says.
“He's a tough businessman, and we know his rhetoric, and that rhetoric is something we've been used to since 2019, and it's just a matter of talking to a counterpart, or an ally, about how to resolve things here in the Arctic and also in NATO.”
Venker presents the central argument used by pro-independence activists.
“What is essential here is for Greenland, as a sovereign nation, to negotiate directly with the United States, not for Denmark to do it on our behalf.”
Independence from Denmark could come at a significant financial cost.
Greenland receives subsidies from Copenhagen worth about a fifth of its GDP each year. Mr. Venker indicates, as have other prominent figures here, that the island will negotiate with America and Denmark for support.
“We are not naive about it. We need support in the areas of defense and security, as well as economic development. We want a sustainable and self-sufficient economy.”
Masana Egedi, editor-in-chief of the local newspaper Sermetsiak, admits he was concerned about the implied threat of force from Donald Trump, but wants to see how the reality matches the rhetoric.
As for independence, Egedi has been frustrated by what he sees as a polarized debate in the media – local and international.
“We tell this story a lot that it has to be about independence or not. But there's this whole story in between, which is that people want independence, but not at any cost. There's a standard of living that has to be maintained. There's trade that has to be maintained, and there are ways of living that have to be maintained.” Preserve it.
There are expectations that at some point – and not in the near future – there will be a vote in favor of the resolution and Denmark will accept the result.
The island's Prime Minister, Mute Egede, spoke at a joint press conference with Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, following Donald Trump's recent statements.
“We don't want to be Danes, we don't want to be Americans, we want to be Greenlanders,” he said. The Danish Prime Minister was careful not to offend anyone, especially the next US President.
She added: “The discussion about Greenland's independence and recent announcements from the United States show us the great interest in Greenland.” “The events have sparked many thoughts and feelings for many in Greenland and Denmark.”
Getty ImagesMs Frederiksen knows all too well how deep feelings run in Greenland. Memories of injustice and racism remain fresh here among the indigenous Inuit people.
Scandals such as the campaign to insert contraception into thousands of Inuit women and girls in the 1960s and 1970s haunt the relationship between Greenland and Denmark.
It is not known how many of these procedures were carried out without permission from those involved, but the numbers are large. The goal was to reduce the population of Greenland.
Malena Abelsen is a former Minister of Finance in the Government of Greenland, and is now an advisor to companies and organizations operating on the island. She has also served on the Board of Directors of the United Nations Development Organization and leading companies in Greenland, such as the seafood group, Royal Greenland.
Ms. Abelsen believes that there is still much to be done to address past injustices.
“I think a lot of people are saying, perhaps the Danish government and state have also said: Well, you know this happened in the past. This happened many years ago. How are we going to be responsible for that? It's time to move on.”
“But you can't move forward if you don't heal, if what happened to you isn't acknowledged. This is a job we have to do together with Denmark, not something Greenland can do alone.”
Despite her high profile in civil society and business, Malina Abelsen says that when it comes to racism – for example jokes about Inuit – she “can speak for most Greenlanders, because we have all seen it in our lives.”
The issues of self-determination and confronting the past are closely intertwined.
Now, Donald Trump's intervention has put both matters before the world's eyes.
But the message we heard – from the remote settlements on the fjord to the capital, Nuuk – is that Greenland's fate must be decided here, among people whose voices have been ignored for too long.
With additional reporting by Adrian Murray and Kostas Kalergis.
