Greenland

Kalaallit Nunaat (Inuit)
Grønland (Riksmål)
Greenland (English)

Subdivision of:	Scandinavian Realm
Cities:
Capital:	Godthåb
Largest:	Godthåb
Other:	Julianehab, Godhavn
Languages:
Official:	Riksmål, Inuit (secondary)
Others:	Greenlandic
Area:	2.166.086 square kilometers
Population:	82.000 inhabittants

State flag

Banner of arms

Greenland is one of the units of the Scandinavian Realm. The population of Greenland is made up of two ethnic groups, the Inuits and the Scandinavians. Inuits migrated to Greenland from what is now northern NAL in 13th-19th century. Scandinavians assumed the area and migrated to it in the later part of this period and the immigration continued through the 20th century. People of the Scandinavian ancestry are generally richer and control most of local government. People of Inuit ancestry demand more power to them as they are in majority; some radical groups considers Scandinavians to be occupants and demands for the creation of the Great Inuit State, which would encompass Greenland, northern NAL and northern Alyaska.

Geography

Greenland consists of the island of Greenland, which is mostly covered by ice, and some surrounding islands.

History

Greenland had been colonised by some prehistoric civilisations which went extinct. In the 10th century first Norse settlers came to the area, later in the 13th-19th the Inuit settling was prominent. Greenland was part of Norway until late 19th century.

Politics

The parliament of Greenland consists of 15 members that mostly comes from local "noble families". These families mostly dates back to the pre-20th century and are exclusively of Scandinavian origin. Trying to assert their power and prevent possible Inuit revolution, during the later part of 20th century immigration from other parts of the Scandinavian Realm was promoted, thus creating sizeable Norwegian, Icelander and Faeroese communities in the area. This is generally protested against by the Inuit community.

The political system before the 2010 reforms was silently approved by NAL and other nearby states as it is feared that any Inuit political empowerment might lead to the attempts to establish the Great Inuit State. However, inside the Scandinavian Realm itself, there is an increasing pressure by people to grant more political powers for the Inuits of Greenland. Especially such pressure exists in the non-Scandinavian populated parts of the Realm.

This article is a proposal It has not been ratified and therefore the information on this page is not protected by QSS. You are welcome to correct errors and/or express your opinion at the Discussion Page.

Beginning in 2010, the Scandinavian government has, due to political pressure from within and without, started to implement reforms addressing the power imbalance and ensuring democratic governance in Greenland. The Kalaallisut dialect of Inuit now is officially recognised by the Scandinavian Realm as a 'secondary official language' of Greenland and an earnest attempt has been made to incorporate the Inuit into politics. However, critics point out those reforms fail to take into account the income inequality between the wealthy Greenlandic minority and the relatively-poor Inuit majority, and so won't genuinely bring true equality. Some of the people saying this are advocates of a Great Inuit State, but others are Scandinavian (including Greenlander) members of the anti-establishment left where Greenland has become a celebrated cause. Siumut ("Forward") is the major Inuit party that advocates pushing for reforms to address oppression, while their more radical cousin Inuit Ataqatigiit ("Community of the People") call it merely decorative and call for "true" liberation, i.e. the Great Inuit State. Only time will tell if those reforms prove ephemeral or permanent or if they unwittingly open the Pandora's Box and ensure the Great Inuit State becomes real.

Demographics

The Inuit are still a slight majority in Greenland, although their share is decreasing due to immigration. The rest of the population are Greenlanders (descendants of the earlier Scandinavian settlers that speaks Greenlandic dialect of the Scandinavian language) and newer immigrant communities - Norwegians, Icelanders, Faeroese. The Scandinavian communities lives mostly in towns, while the Inuits dwells in smaller villages and some are hunters. The so-called Campaign for single nationality, which has been carried out since the late 20th century, promotes the immigration of Scandinavians to traditionally Inuit areas and vice-versa. It is criticised by the Inuit as an attempt to Scandinavianise them. Riksmål is the single official language. The Greenlander community maintains exclusive political power.

• Inuits - 52.05%
• Norwegians - 11.13%
• Greenlanders - 9.74%
• Danes - 8.82 %
• Swedes - 6.95 %
• Icelanders - 4.32%
• Faeroese - 1.15%
• Others - 5.84%

Economy

The major economic revenue of Greenland is fishing and now as well tourism. High prices of transporting commodities to Greenland results in high costs.

Transportation is largely by air. There are flights from Godhab to some main cities of Scandinavia, as well to the Faeroes via Reykjavik. The only commercial flights to America are to Philadelphia, NAL.

Flags

Greenland's flags follow the standard SR pattern of civil flag, state flag, and banner of arms. The arms are identical to Greenland's *here*. When Greenland was granted self-rule within the SR, the bear was redrawn so that its left arm was raised, although this goes against conventional heraldry: polar bears are traditionally held to be left-handed. See https://www.heraldry-wiki.com/heraldrywiki/wiki/National_Arms_of_Greenland for a detailed explanation of the coat of arms from *here*.

This page was created by Abdul-aziz.