Photo: First Day In School In Greenland, children with Greenland flags, by Kim Hansen, 2007, Wikimedia
(Recent events have forced me to revise this article a few times. As of today (January 23, 2026) Denmark and other NATO nations have sent military forces to Greenland to prevent a possible US takeover. Greenlanders themselves are publicly stating their desire to remain in Denmark)
How long before the US flag flies over Kalaallit Nunuat, aka Greenland? It could be months away, or even hours. Trump’s arrest and removal of the Venezuelan president on Saturday, January 3, 2026 was unprecedented in the modern era, and he has been pushing for the absorption of Greenland since before he took office.
Anything is possible.
Currently, Greenland is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, a NATO member and therefore (theoretically) a US ally.
In less polite terms, Greenland is (or was) a colony of Denmark.
And no, Greenland is not a “white” colony. Greenlanders are Kalaalit Inuit people. Denmark once forced IUDs into Greenland girls to reduce the population, and those girls are now adult and childless women who are facing a future with no adult offspring to care for them in old age, which is the way of their culture. These adult women are my age, and I have a minor child, so this is a current problem for living people.
I have yet to hear a Democratic official question the morality of the US taking a colony, and its people, from another colonial power, without consulting the actual residents.
As for the Greenlanders themselves, there is some dissatisfaction with Danish rule. Not just because of real colonial trauma, but because of Denmark’s refusal to develop the mineral wealth present in Greenland. Extractive industries would diversify the local economy.
No doubt a US-led Greenland would lead to more jobs in the mining of rare earths, and some Greenlanders might support that, too.
Would the U.S. respect Greenland’s unique culture and language, as Trump seems hell bent on erasing the histories of non-Whites already part of American (that is U.S.) culture?
The greatest loss to Greenlanders, in either scenario, might be their health care and other social benefits that are provided by Denmark.
Greenland’s best bet might be to negotiate independence with the US as most favored nation for investment. If that fails, then absorption by the US with a huge cash payment to individual citizens, and the creation of a sovereign wealth fund to collect the profits of rare earth minerals and distribute among the people, as Alaska currently has. In fact, every US state should have its own sovereign wealth fund, but I digress.
Greenland might even be bold enough to demand entry as the 51st state, with one congress person and two US senators! That would be a whopping chunk of federal power for 57,000 Greenlanders!
Ultimately, it’s the Greenlanders who should have the final say, and a public referendum might be necessary sooner rather than later.
Human Generated
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