Image
*** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ***
Statement of Support for Indigenous Peoples of Kalaalit Nunavut (Greenland)
January 22, 2026
Kalaalit Nunavut (Greenland) is an Indigenous nation, the vast majority of whose population is Inuit. Long colonized by Denmark, the Inuit of Greenland have consistently asserted their rights to self-determination and self-government, as well as their right to their lands, territories and natural resources. They have called for the recognition and full respect of these rights by Denmark and by the international community.
Armstrong Wiggins (Miskitu), Director of the Indian Law Resource Center’s Washington, DC Office, and a leading advocate for Indigenous peoples’ self-determination for some 50 years, stated: “Greenland belongs to its people—the Inuit Peoples. For Indigenous peoples, our lands are essential to our identity and are key to our exercise of nearly all our rights-- to self-government, to sustainable economic development, environmental protection, climate security, and cultural survival. When our land rights are secure, then we can ensure safety for women and girls in our territory.”
“The political status of Greenland is entirely a question for the people of Greenland,” said Christopher Foley, Executive Director of the Indian Law Resource Center. “Local government; democracy; the sovereignty of the people–these are dominant values of Indigenous governance and are values the United States has long held up as its own. What is right for Greenland is what the people of Greenland demand, no matter what folks in D.C. or Davos might wish.”
The Indian Law Resource Center strongly denounces attempts by the United States to characterize Greenland as a transferable asset or to treat it as a geopolitical object subject to acquisition or coercion. Such an approach reflectscolonial and imperialist practices that fundamentally disregard the sovereignty, dignity, and self-determination of the Inuit people. As an Indigenous organization, we emphasize that the Inuit of Greenland are a people and that their human and Indigenous rights must be fully respected. The political status of Greenland must be determined in accordance with their rights to self-determination as guaranteed by international law and acknowledged in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Article 3: Indigenous peoples have the right to self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.
Greenland is not empty, unclaimed land. It is the homeland of proud, distinct, self-governing Inuit people. The Inuit do not need a “better colonizer.” They need their Indigenous rights to be respected, protected and fulfilled—by Denmark, by the United States, by the European Union, and by the global Community.
Founded in 1978, the Indian Law Resource Center provides assistance to Indian Nations and Indigenous peoples in the United States and throughout the Americas to combat racism and oppression; to protect their lands and environment; to protect their cultures and ways of life; to achieve sustainable economic development and genuine self-government; and to realize their other human rights.