The sun is rising over the snow-covered mountains of Nuukfjord as we travel along one of the world’s last wild frontiers.

But shadows gather here and in other frozen parts of Greenland.

As Donald Trump becomes President of the United States, his Refusing to rule out taking Greenland by force is echoing in conversations across the island.

“Of course he’s welcome to visit,” said the captain of the converted fishing boat taking us east. Recognizing that he needs to do business with people of all political hues, he asked not to be named but used a phrase I’ve heard repeatedly here.

“Greenland belongs to Greenlanders. So, Trump can visit, but that’s it.”

The water was calm as we pulled into the remote settlement of Kapisillit, population about 40 people, where some hunters were shooting seals.

The temperature was -16C (3F), with the wind chill it felt more like -27C.

But near the port, I met a local church elder, Kaaleeraq Ringsted, 73, a great-grandfather who was drying cod in the fish-rich waters next to his front door. piece.

When I asked President-elect Trump to buy or invade Greenland, he laughed at first. Then his tone became serious.

“It’s unacceptable for him to say that. Greenland is not for sale.”

He then told me how he learned to fish and hunt here with his father and grandfather, and how he wanted to preserve that life for his children and grandchildren.

The boat made its way across the bay, through broken surface ice. Two eagles perched on a rock, searching for fish in the clear water.

We are heading to Angutimmarik Hansen’s farm, where sheep are raised and seals, wildfowl and rabbits are hunted.

All the winter feed for his sheep needs to be imported from Denmark, a reminder of how the harsh climate determined the possibilities for life here.

There was a row of shotguns just inside his front door. He noticed me looking at them.

“These are just in case of an invasion,” he joked.

But he is far from relenting on Mar-a-Lago’s bellicose rhetoric.

“What a stupid person in the world people like Trump are,” he said. “We will never sell Greenland.”

The small farm is about 3,000 miles (4,828 kilometers) from Florida, where the incoming U.S. president held his now-infamous press conference last week.

“But Trump is not America. We can work with the American people,” Mr Hansen said.

The Trump effect follows Donald Trump Jr. arrives in Greenlandfollowing a statement from his father. He flew to the capital Nuuk on his family’s 737 plane – Trump One – and stayed for 4 hours and 33 minutes, meeting some locals and making only polite remarks.

“It’s great to see people and people are happy to see us,” he said after lunch at a local hotel. “Dad must come here.”

Then it was back to sunny Florida.

Trump Jr. was greeted by Jorgen Boasson, a local businessman who campaigned for the president-elect.

He told local media that he was Trump’s “biggest fan” and “of course they are interested in our country and they are welcome to come and see what our country is like. This is also for the opening up of trade and cooperation.”

The city of Nuuk is the northernmost capital city in the world. It has a thriving civil society and a strong press. Happily, Trump’s comments have pushed the debate over Greenland’s independence onto the international stage.

Activists such as Kuno Fencker, a member of the ruling coalition and a member of the local parliament’s foreign affairs and security committee, said that Greenland is certainly not anyone’s colony.

We meet in the port under a bronze statue of Hans Egede, the 18th-century missionary widely credited here with pioneering the path to colonization.

“Donald Trump is a statesman,” Mr. Fink said.

“He’s a hard-working businessman and we know his rhetoric, which is what we’ve become accustomed to since 2019, which is just a discussion with peers, allies and also in NATO about how we solve problems in the Arctic.”

Mr Fink laid out the central argument for pro-independence campaigners.

“What is necessary here is that Greenland as a sovereign country should negotiate directly with the United States, rather than Denmark doing it for us.”

Independence from Denmark could come at a huge financial cost.

Greenland receives annual subsidies from Copenhagen equivalent to about a fifth of its gross domestic product. Mr Fink said the island, like other leaders here, would negotiate with the United States and Denmark for support.

“We are not naive about this. We need support in defence, security and economic development. We want a sustainable and self-sufficient economy.”

Maasana Egede, editor of local newspaper Sermitsiaq, admitted he was worried about Donald Trump’s hinted threat of force but wanted to see if reality matched the rhetoric.

As for independence, Mr Egged is frustrated by what he sees as a polarizing debate in the local and international media.

“We tell the story to a large extent that it has to be about independence or not. But all these stories are in between, that people want independence but at any cost. The standard of living has to be maintained… There is Trade must be maintained.”

It is expected that at some point – rather than in the near future – a yes vote will be taken and Denmark will accept the results.

Following Donald Trump’s latest comments, the island’s Prime Minister Mutt Egged spoke at a joint press conference with his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen.

“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 incoming U.S. president.

“The debate on Greenland’s independence and the latest announcement from the United States shows us that there is huge interest in Greenland,” she said. “These events triggered many thoughts and feelings among many people in Greenland and Denmark.”

Ms. Frederiksen knows how deeply felt the people of Greenland are. For the indigenous Inuit, memories of injustice and racism remain fresh.

Scandals plagued relations between Greenland and Denmark in the 1960s and 1970s, such as a campaign to implant IUDs into thousands of Inuit women and girls to prevent pregnancy.

It’s unclear how many of these procedures were carried out without the permission of those involved, but the number is significant. The aim is to reduce Greenland’s population.

Maliina Abelsen is the former finance minister of the Greenland government and now works as a consultant for companies and organizations working on the island. She has also worked for UNICEF Denmark and leading Greenlandic businesses such as seafood group Royal Greenland.

Ms. Abelson believes more needs to be done to address the injustices of the past.

“I think a lot of people are saying, and maybe the Danish government and the country are saying, ‘Oh, well, you know this happened in the past. This was many years ago. How are we responsible for this? This It’s time to move on.

“But if you are not healed, if you are not aware of what is happening to you, you cannot move on. This is something we have to do together with Denmark, not something Greenland can do alone.”

Despite her high profile in civil society and business circles, Malina Abelson said that when it comes to racism – such as jokes about Inuit – she “can speak for the majority of Greenlanders, We all experience this in our lives”.

The issue of self-determination is closely related to the issue of confronting the past.

Now the intervention of Donald Trump has put both events before the eyes of the world.

But from remote settlements in the fjords to the capital Nuuk, the message we hear is that Greenland’s fate must be decided here by those who have long been ignored.

Additional reporting by Adrienne Murray and Kostas Kallergis.