Aqqaluk Lynge studies a map showing the ice surrounding the island Greenland and mocks US President Donald Trump’s claims that America should “own” the territory.

“So if you’re dreaming of a golf course, you’re welcome,” he scoffs, “You can do it in the middle of the ice sheet. It’s three kilometers thick. We can help you and get you there by dog ​​sled and I’m sure you’ll survive.”

One of the founders of the pro-Greenland independence party Inuit Ataqatigiit, Lynge is also a former president of the Inuit Circumpolar Council.

He is well aware that US threats have thrust the debate over Greenland’s sovereignty into the center of global attention.

“We are in the midst of a generational shift,” says Lynge, an influential leader on the island, during a recent interview at his home on the outskirts of the capital.

“What you see today is something that we, our generation, built. And now young people have Greenland to themselves,” he says.

Lynge was once a staunch advocate of separation from Denmark, but now believes the governance structure developed over the years offers the best of both worlds.

In 2008, Kalaallisut, the island’s Inuit language, was declared the territory’s official language. Greenland has its own parliament and prime minister and controls its own education, environment and fisheries sectors, as well as mineral and oil revenue.

“We have the best possible deal between a formerly colonized people and our colonizer,” says Lynge.

“There are many opportunities within that to expand our political and economic future. We have the right to speak our own language. Also, we have the right to all living and non-living resources,” he explains.

Trump may have backed off his threats to take the island “by force,” but his threats have reignited the debate over Greenland’s independence.

Approximately 90 percent of Greenland’s population is Inuit.

How many want the nation to become independent from Denmark appears to be changing since Trump’s threats began last year.

A new poll conducted last month for The Copenhagen Post found that 62 percent of Greenlanders do not want to leave, compared to a survey last year that found 56 percent of Greenlanders surveyed supported independence.

A 2009 law allows the island to declare independence from Denmark by referendum. Such a referendum has never been held.

“Over 40 years, we are no closer to independence,” says Nuuk resident Arnanguak Stork, sitting in the apartment she shares with her husband and adult daughter. Her grandchildren’s artwork and old family photos cover the walls.

Stork worries that a united response by Greenland and Denmark to Trump’s threats of annexation will overshadow the Inuit’s push for sovereignty.

“They (politicians) are simply speaking to the whole world as if they were Greenland, saying, ‘Yes, we agree on everything that happens outside,'” she says.

“We don’t agree,” she adds, “And Danish television is always talking about Donald Trump. We’re tired of hearing about him. And we’re tired of hearing about the Danes.“

With a population of only 57,000, the territory relies on financial support from the Kingdom of Denmark, particularly for financing social programs. In Greenland, the risk of poverty is higher than in Denmark.

Single mother Dorthe Qvist says that living in Nuuk is expensive and finding affordable accommodation is difficult.

But she still firmly believes that her people would benefit from an independent government.

“My dream is for Greenland to be independent because I’m really proud of my country and my people in Greenland. I know we can do it,” she says. “Now it’s good to work with Denmark, but in the future… I want to be independent.”

The relationship between the Greenlandic Inuit and Denmark has historically been complicated and remains so.

Denmark’s colonial legacy of forced relocations and sterilizations, cultural assimilation and family separation caused long-term trauma.

Report from 2023 The UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples has called on the Danish and Greenlandic governments to address the damage of colonialism and racism.

It also called for more inclusive consultation with Inuit in the development of laws and policies.

Stork believes that her people’s lives will not improve until they gain full independence.

She says her grown daughter, who lives with her, can’t afford an apartment and says Inuit, especially in Nuuk, face racism when trying to find work.

When asked if she believes that in her own time she will experience independence, Storka’s eyes fill with tears.

“I want to feel it when I’m alive,” she says, pausing to keep from crying.

“We want to feel independent here,” he adds, putting his hand on his heart.

All of Greenland’s political parties support independence, but each has different opinions on how soon it should happen.

Inuit like Stork, who have already been waiting for decades, now worry it won’t happen at all.