Abstracts
Abstract
After Fridtjof Nansen (1861-1930) crossed the Greenland icecap, he spent the winter in Nuuk and impressed the Greenlanders not only by demonstrating his skill and daring in kayaking, but also by his openness to Greenlandic food, culture, and traditions. Later on, when Danes and Norwegians came into conflict over Greenland, Greenlanders supported the Danish colonial power against Norway, while at the same criticizing the Danes for not paying enough respect to Greenlanders during the process. Articles from the national Greenlandic newspapers Atuagagdliutit and Avangnâmioĸ demonstrate that Greenlanders were open-minded towards Norwegians but critical towards Danes. They fully supported the latter as a colonial power against Norway, while never refraining from the idea that Greenland remained their ethnic-national territory, even though for the time being it was colonized by the Danes. The author concludes that Greenlandic agency found in these newspapers is very relevant when negotiating today’s discourse on colonial Greenlanders.
Résumé
Fridtjof Nansen (1861-1930), après avoir traversé la calotte glaciaire du Groenland, a passé l’hiver à Nuuk et a impressionné les Groenlandais par sa compétence et son audace en kayak, mais aussi par son ouverture d’esprit vis-à-vis de la nourriture, la culture et les traditions groenlandaises. Plus tard, lorsque les Danois et les Norvégiens sont entrés en conflit au sujet du Groenland, les Groenlandais ont soutenu la puissance coloniale danoise contre la Norvège, tout en reprochant aux Danois de ne pas avoir montré assez de respect envers les Groenlandais durant ledit processus. Les articles des journaux nationaux groenlandais Atuagagdliutit et Avangnâmioĸ démontrent que les Groenlandais étaient ouverts d’esprit envers les Norvégiens mais critiques envers les Danois. Tout en apportant leur soutien à ces derniers comme puissance coloniale contre la Norvège, les Groenlandais n’ont toutefois jamais oublié l’idée de l’intégrité ethnique et nationale du Groenland, même si, à ce moment-là, le pays était encore colonisé par les Danois. L’auteure conclut que l’agentivité groenlandaise que l’on découvre dans ces articles est très pertinente dans l’analyse du discours contemporain sur les Groenlandais de la période coloniale.
Appendices
References
- AIDT, Leif, 2008 Sunnia kalippoq, Nuuk, Ilinniusiorfik.
- ANDERSON, Benedict, 1983 Imagined communities: Reflection on the origin and spread of nationalism, London and New York, Verso.
- ANONYMOUS, 1890-1891 Aataarniat Norgemut tikittut ukioq 1889 Juuli 19 (‘The harp seal sealers back in Norway July 19, 1889’), Atuagagdliutit, 1890/91: 95-96.
- ANONYMOUS, 1901-1902 Tamarlisit (‘Miscellaneous’), Atuagagdliutit, 1901/02: 32.
- ANONYMOUS, 1906-1907 Tamarlisit (‘Miscellaneous’), Atuagagdliutit, 1906/07: 31-32.
- BERTHELSEN, Jens, 1927-1928 Nunarput illersortigu (‘Let’s defend our land’), Atuagagdliutit, 1927/28: 65-71.
- DALAGER, Peter S., 1933 Ulloq Apriilip tallimaat 1933 (‘The day April 5, 1933’), Avangnâmioĸ, 1933: 68-70.
- EGEDE, Lars, 1926-1927 Isumaliut malillugu aniatitat (‘Utterances according to thought’), Atuagagdliutit, 1926/27: 177-180.
- ERIKSEN, Thomas Hylland, 2010 Ethnicity and Nationalism, London and New York, Pluto Press.
- GABRIELSEN, Tobias, 1930 Tunuliarnilersaarut (‘About a tour to East Greenland’), Avangnâmioĸ, 1930: 33-46.
- GOLDSCHMIDT, Ditte Bentzon, 1987 Danmark - moder eller koloniherre? (‘Denmark - mother or colonial ruler?’), Fortid og Nutid, 3: 209-224.
- H.H., 1933 Kalaallit Nunaat kalaallinut (‘Greenland for Greenlanders’), Avangnâmioĸ, 1933: 81-83.
- HAMMEKEN, V.,, 1889-1890 Oqalualaarutit (‘Narratives’), Atuagagdliutit, 1889/90:117-122, 135-144, 147-152, 161-164.
- JENSEN, Hans, 1920 Tusarliussaq (‘An announcement’), Avangnâmioĸ, 1920: 58-59.
- JOAB, 1887-1888 Savikasik (‘A poor knife’), Atuagagdliutit, 1887/88: 143-144.
- KLEIST, G., 1921 Qeqertarsuup ukiune kingulliusuni pissuseriligaanik nalunaarut (‘Information about Qeqertarsuaq’s situation these last years’), Avangnâmioĸ, 1921: 1-4.
- LANGGÅRD, Karen, 1998 An examination of Greenlandic awareness of ethnicity and national self-consciousness through texts produced by Greenlanders 1860s-1920s, Études/Inuit/Studies, 22(1): 83-107.
- LANGGÅRD, Karen, 2010 West Greenlanders’ View of East Greenlanders over Time – the discourse in Atuagagdliutit from 1861 to the First World War and in Greenlandic literature, in Karen Langgård, Flemming Nielsen, Birgit Kleist Pedersen, Kennet Pedersen and Jette Rygaard (eds), Cultural and Social Research in Greenland.. Selected Essays 1992-2010, Nuuk, Ilisimatusarfik and Forlaget Atuagkat: 175-201.
- LANGGÅRD, Karen, 2011a Greenlandic Literature from Colonial Times to Self-Government, in Karen Langgård and Kirsten Thisted (eds), From Oral Tradition to Rap. Literatures of the Polar North, Nuuk, Ilisimatusarfik and Forlaget Atuagkat: 119-187.
- LANGGÅRD, Karen, 2011b Ethnic-national Discourses in Greenlandic media 1861-1920, Ph.D. dissertation, University of Aalborg, Aalborg.
- LINDOW, H. et al., 1924 Landsraadit oqaloqatigiissutaat ataatsimiinnermi 1924 (‘The assembly’s consultations during the 1924 meeting’), Avangnâmioĸ, 1924: 65-76.
- LYNGE, Fr., 1930 Sissuernimininnguit (‘Small details’), Avangnâmioĸ, 1930: 73-74.
- LYNGE, Kristoffer, 1922-1923a Nunanit allanit tusakkat (News from abroad), Atuagagdliutit, 1922/23: 49-56.
- LYNGE, Kristoffer, 1922-1923b Naqqiut (Correction), Atuagagdliutit 1922/23:168-170.
- LYNGE, Kristoffer, 1923-1924 untitled, Atuagagdliutit, 1923/24: 135-136.
- MØLLER, Lars, 1889-1890 Nansenip ilaasalu Nuummi ukiisillutik angalasarneri (‘The tours of Nansen while overwintering in Nuuk’), Atuagagdliutit, 1889/90: 1-7, 183-188.
- MØLLER, Lars, 1895-1896 Tunumut ajoqersuiartortitat niuertullu nunasinerat (‘The settlement of those sent for missionary work and trade in East Greenland’), Atuagagdliutit, 1895/96: 49-53.
- NANSEN, Fridtjof, 1888-1889 Tunumit sermikkut itivinneq (‘The crossing over the icecap from East Greenland’), Atuagagdliutit, 1888/89: 145-153, 162-169.
- NIELSEN, Peter, 1931-1932 Inatsisit inuiaqatigiissuserlu (‘The laws and the ethnic-nationality’), Atuagagdliutit, 1931/32: 105-108.
- P.N., 1932 Nunanit allanit tusakkat (‘News from abroad’), Avangnâmioĸ, 1932: 44-45.
- S.P., 1932 Nunanit allanit tusakkat (‘News from abroad’), Avangnâmioĸ, 1932: 50-53.
- PETERSEN, Pavia, 1930-1931 Kiinap ungalutoqarsua (‘The Great Wall of China’), Atuagagdliutit, 1930/31: 153-156.
- REIMER, K., 1923 Naqqiut-mut (‘Concerning Corrections’), Avangnâmioĸ, 1923: 49.
- ROSENDAHL, Ph., 1930 untitled, Avangnâmioĸ, 1930: 74.
- ROSING, Christian, 1888-1889 untitled song, Atuagagdliutit, 1888/89: 160.
- ROSING, Jakob, 1922-1923 Iluanaarfissat annerit! (‘The largest chances for economic profit!’), Atuagagdliutit, 1922/23: 161-168.
- ROSING, Jakob, 1923-1924 Iluanaarfissat annerit (‘The largest chances for economic profit’), Atuagagdliutit, 1923/24: 129-135.
- ROSING, P., 1920 Qallunaat (‘White people’), Avangnâmioĸ, 1920: 33-34.
- SIILARSI, 1888-1889 Qallunaat (‘White people’), Atuagagdliutit, 1888/89: 153-159, 170-173.
- STORCH, Mathias, 1911-1912 Piniarneq naammakkunnaarpat suut allat saaffigissavavut? (‘If hunting declines what else shall we turn to?’), Atuagagdliutit, 1911/12: 180-182.
- SØRENSEN, Axel Kjaer, 2007 Denmark-Greenland in the Twentieth Century, Copenhagen, Meddelelser om Grønland, Man and Society, 34.
- THOMAS, Nicolas, 1994 Colonialism’s Culture. Anthropology, travel and government, Cambridge, Polity Press.
- TOBIASSEN, Salomon, 1925-1926 Silorsuaq (‘The big carcass’), Atuagagdliutit, 1925/26: 33-37.
- WÆRP, Henning Howlid, 2010 Fridtjof Nansen, First Crossing of Greenland (1890): Bestseller and Scientific Report, in Anka Ryall, Johan Schimanski and Henning Howlid Waerp (eds), Arctic Discourses, Newcastle, Cambridge Scholars Publishing: 43-58.