How TikTok is helping young Greenlandic women reclaim their lost Inuit identity

Few people are aware of Denmark’s ugly colonial history with Greenland. Even fewer are privy to the generational damage it continues to cause Greenlanders both in their native country and in the Nordics — that is, until now. The power of social media has struck once again, bringing forth a community of young Inuit [a term used to describe indigenous people from northern Canada, Greenland and Alaska] women ready to reclaim the culture and identity their coloniser so desperately tried to erase and replace with dehumanising stigmas that, sadly, continue to dominate perceptions of Greenland and its people.

“I grew up thinking it was normal to be ashamed to be from Greenland,” says 32 year-old TikToker and activist, Paninnguaq Heilmann, who appeared in the 2020 documentary, The Fight For Greenland. “The reaction I always got from Denmark, and Danish people, was one of pity, like they were looking down their noses at me. And of course, then came the jokes about being a drunk.”

One of the biggest prejudices against Greenlandic people is a longstanding stereotype that they’re all alcoholics and have social issues. So much so that a common saying to describe a drunk person among Danes is to call someone ​​'drunk as a Greenlander' — a phrase rooted in ignorance and a complete lack of accountability.

Up until 1953, Greenland remained a Danish colony and till this day, the country is yet to have complete independence and autonomy of its own land. Everything from foreign relations to defence, currency and the legal system in Greenland is overseen by Denmark and all of its people are Danish citizens. “In our schools they tell us we’ll amount to nothing unless we speak Danish. They don’t prioritise our own language or teach us about our own culture and history. Everything is focused on Denmark and how to be Danish,” says Heilmann, who has used her platform to educate others about inuit history after years of doing her own research and teaching herself about Greenlandic culture.

On TikTok, she often posts videos, proudly showing off her indigenious tattoos, each with a symbolic meaning of its own, while making educational videos recapping the history between Denmark and Greenland, most of which is done in her native tongue. “I’ve been sober for 11 years and 12 months today. When I was a kid I suffered from bulimia and even attempted suicide twice because I didn’t want to be here,” Heilmann shares. “I’d look at fashion magazines and TV shows and I would never see anyone who looked like me or represented me in any way. It makes you feel so alone. Like you don’t exist.”

In the 1950s, the first group of Inuit children were taken from their families in Greenland to be ‘re-educated’ as model Danish citizens. The so-called ‘social experiment’ saw 22 kids separated from their families and brought to Copenhagen, where they were adopted by white Danish parents in an attempt to erase their Greenlandic identity. Those who were later sent back were put in a children’s home set up by Denmark and a charity, rather than returned to their families, who were suddenly deemed ‘unfit’ by the Danish government for not adhering to the Danish way of life. Up until the 1970s, over 9,000 Greenlandic children were brought to Denmark, including Heilmann’s mother. “I have two children now and I just can’t imagine what that situation was like for my grandmother and my mother. To be separated from your child is a trauma I can’t even comprehend.”

Fellow TikTok influencer, Pakkutannguaq S Larsen’s father was also sent to Denmark as a child, though the experience made him all the more determined to hold onto his roots. Taking after her father, Larsen, 26, has used the platform to dismantle misperceptions about Greenland and teach her 32.8k followers, and anyone who will listen, about her culture. “I grew up in a village of only 60 people in the south of Greenland. My dad loved taking my siblings and I out to nature and teaching us about our ancestors and their way of life. He used to show us how to do drum and mask dancing growing up too, so I’ve always felt connected to my culture,” she explains. “Every time my family and I would go on vacation to Denmark, we would experience such racism. But my dad taught us never to care about what anyone thinks of us because we know who we are in our hearts.

When Larsen moved to Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, to study, she noticed that few people were speaking Greenlandic, favouring the Danish language and culture over their own. “I realised that a lot of children here like to speak Danish and aren’t very familiar with the Greenlandic language. It felt like our heritage was disappearing and I wanted to do something about it so I started making TikToks about Greenland and inuit history. For so long we’ve been afraid to stand up for ourselves but I want to change that.”

For 23-year-old artist Naja Mathlide Rosing - who is of both Danish and Greenlandic descent - the experience of coming to terms with her identity and feeling connected to her culture was slightly different, having been born and raised in Copenhagen. “It took me many years to learn how to love myself and my heritage and I'm still learning everyday,” she admits. “People are often surprised when I tell them I'm Greenlandic. It's like they don't believe me. In their minds they already have a vision of what Greenlandic people look like, how they act and where they are staying. I hear racist jokes, mocking comments and hateful words when people hear where I’m from.”

It was the community of Inuit women on TikTok that inspired Rosing to delve deeper into her roots and own who she is. “I think in general if you're a mix of two nationalities, a struggle will come along because you never truly feel accepted in either society or culture,” she says. “I got really inspired by a young woman I saw on TikTok named Shina Nova who comes from a different inuit tribe in Canada… To see such a strong and influential character reach people through Instagram and TikTok is incredible,” she says. “I felt instantly inspired to make other greenlandic people just as connected and accepted as she made me feel.”

There’s still a long way to go before the world is adequately educated on Greenland and its people, and perhaps even longer before we will truly be rid of rotten stereotypes, but one thing’s for sure, we won’t underestimate the power of social media activism as a means to an end. “We’re not invisible to the world,” says Lars. “We’re kind-hearted humans who are in the healing stage of recovering from generational trauma. I want people to understand that, so we can change the narrative once and for all…”