NUUK, Greenland — You can’t put a price tag on this Arctic island — at least, that’s the message from the people who live here as rumors swirl of US offers to purchase it.
“We are not for sale. Our land is not for sale. This goes back to our ancestors,” said Larserak Matthiessen, a Nuuk carpenter, told The Post
Peter Kristiansen, a Nuuk stone-carving artist teaching locals his craft when The Post caught him, agreed: “I want Greenland to be independent, but we’re not ready yet. But I hope it happens before I die.”
President Trump wants Greenland for national security reasons — both for the island’s rich rare-earth minerals and its geostrategic location between the US and any possible threats from Russia.
He also claims Moscow or Beijing will take over the island eventually if the US doesn’t take it by force or through money.
“One way or another, we’re going to have Greenland,” he said Sunday.
Most residents told The Post they want freedom from Denmark, a longtime NATO ally of the US, and aren’t thrilled about another occupation, Greenlandic parliamentary members Kuno Fencker and Juno Berthelsen told The Post.
Opinions diverge on when and how independence should happen, but the Greenlandic parliamentary members urged the Trump administration to buy into their quest for freedom or else overtures could fall flat.
“The wrong framing is that we can purchase a country or purchase a people,” Fencker said. “That’s the absolute wrong framing.” He and Berthelsen suggested Washington should support Greenland’s right to self-determination — and be ready to make deals once that happens.
That could appeal to Greenlanders such as student Oliver Bech, who said the financial angle is key — but “the vast majority of people” would still refuse paychecks to become the 51st state.
“The Americans already have a space base here in Greenland,” he said while warming up with a cappuccino in a popular cafe. “… But it’s actually Denmark that’s earning money from renting out land, and not us directly. Maybe it would be much better if we actually received that instead.”
Economic realities are stifling. Greenland must import nearly everything — from fruits and vegetables to machinery — and prices are high, with a harsher inflation rate than mainland Denmark.
Still, Emma Holm, who receives just $1,000 a month of unemployment welfare while caring for her elderly aunt, said she values Denmark’s social safety net.
That safety net is partly funded by Denmark’s “block grant” to the country, equating to roughly $477 million — about a fifth of Greenland’s total budget.
Asked whether she’d accept a rumored $100,000-per-person offer to become American, she said she felt more comfortable with the devil she knows.
“I don’t know. It depends. I mean, I’ve lived in Greenland all my life and I know the hospital is free and the education is free,” she said. “So I cannot say it should be changed. Greenland is Greenland.”
Even those frustrated with Denmark’s past colonization remain wary of cash handouts from outsiders.
“I’ve had enough of Denmark and how they governed us in history. I had enough,” said Nikolannguaq Heilmann, a retired shrimp boat engineer. “I would rather prefer us as a big partner. But that’s a very arrogant way to try. People know better than that.”
Fencker and Berthelsen — both members of Greenland’s pro-independence Naleraq party — said Greenlanders’ skepticism is justified, stressing that any deal with the United States must respect Greenland’s legal right to independence under the 2009 Self-Rule Act.
Under current law, Greenland must first negotiate with Denmark before opening direct talks with Washington on defense, security, or economic agreements — leaving the island in a tricky position.
As Arctic competition heats up, Fencker said any future relationship with Washington must come through sovereignty, not a price tag.
“We have self-rule, but the economic situation is very difficult,” he said, noting that Denmark’s block grant is indexed to Danish inflation — even though inflation is often higher in Greenland. “The block grant is not sufficient.”
Fencker warned that if Denmark walked away during independence talks, it would create a geopolitical “vacuum” that a superpower would inevitably fill. Rather than subsidies, he said Greenland’s strategic location is its leverage.
“Placement, placement, placement,” Fencker said. “If you want access to this location, you pay.”
That could mean renegotiating US military access, including expanding beyond the American Pituffik Space Base under a revised defense agreement, and paying Greenland directly to rent land — instead of routing everything through Copenhagen.
Berthelsen said opposition to independence is concentrated largely in Nuuk and driven by fears over losing Danish funding, cultural ties, and access to education.
“The block grant is the central argument,” he said. “People say we’re not economically ready.”
But Berthelsen argued Greenland could survive without it through reforms, trade partnerships or even free association agreements, similar to those the US has with places like Micronesia or the Marshall Islands.
“A free association would make us a sovereign nation,” he said. “We would represent ourselves in the UN and international organizations. That’s the fundamental thing we want.”
Until then, Fencker said the US should avoid forceful rhetoric about taking the island.
“Small steps. No threats. No purchase,” Fencker said. “Just say you support Greenland’s right to become independent.”
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