The Changing Culture of Greenland

Authors' Note: Travels with Gannon & Wyatt Greenland There are places on earth so extraordinarily beautiful the mere act of being there gives rise to a spiritual awakening in the traveler. It is these places that inspire in us a lifelong desire to travel the globe, always searching for the next location that will leave us astonished by its splendor. Greenland is one such place.Inevitably, such a profound travel experience sends you away with a deep affection for the place, its natural environment and the people who live there. The concerns of the people become that of the traveler. This happened to us in Greenland, where two issues were continually brought up in conversation: the preservation of Greenlandic culture and climate change.Many Greenlanders we spoke with felt their way of life was misunderstood. Their culture, they said, was often dismissed as primitive and in need of modernization. Indeed, outside influence is already reshaping the country. After visiting the Greenland National Museum in Nuuk one rainy July afternoon, we walked back to our hotel in the center of town. Along the way, we passed high-rise office buildings, newly constructed condominiums, banks, an electronics store, and a clothing retailer carrying a variety of international brands. All were clear examples of how life in Greenland is already changing.Of course, not all of these things are bad. Many Greenlanders actually appreciate some of the changes. As anthropologist Hugh Brody put it, the issue isn’t traditional versus a modern way of life, but whether or not indigenous people are free to choose how they go about their lives.As for climate change, Greenlanders do not need a scientific report to tell them what’s happening. They are witnessing the impact of climate change with their own eyes. Temperatures in the Arctic are warming faster than anywhere else on earth. Waterways that used to freeze solid in the winter, no longer do. Storms are more severe, the ice sheet is melting, and sea levels are rising. Nature is in flux, disrupting the indigenous peoples’ ability to hunt and fish and provide for their families.Given this truth, it may be the indigenous people of the Arctic who sound the loudest alarm in the years to come, motivating the rest of the world to take the decisive action necessary to ensure the long-term health of our planet. In the Travels with Gannon & Wyatt books, we encourage young people to learn from the world’s indigenous cultures. Their teachings might just provide the inspiration we need to reevaluate our own relationship with nature—this being the critical first step if we hope to make good on our responsibility to leave behind a cleaner, safer world for our children.