Donald Trump's recent demands to annex Greenland have sparked a frightening surge of diplomatic activity in Denmark and across Europe.
For Greenlanders dreaming of independence, Trump's attention has reignited long-standing debates about the possibility of achieving this goal.
Denmark colonized Greenland in 1721, with a brief interruption during World War II, and reasserted control in 1953.
Independence and full autonomy have always inspired the indigenous Inuit people. The colonization process was complex and at times brutal.
Some communities have suffered from poor living conditions, high poverty rates, and low life expectancy for decades.
They have also endured failed social experiments by Denmark, including the forced implantation of contraceptives into young Inuit women in the 1970s.
Three years ago, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen issued an official apology for the "heartless" policy of forcibly removing Inuit children from their families to send them to Copenhagen in the 1950s.
Kuupaanuk Olsen, the largest Greenlandic blogger with 1.6 million followers, around 600,000 of whom live in the U.S., is also an advocate for independence from Denmark.
She acknowledges that Trump's aggressive rhetoric about "seizing Greenland" sounds like yet another form of colonization but prefers to view the situation as an opportunity.
"I decided not to be afraid, nor to let myself be intimidated," she said in an interview with Euronews, adding: "We just need to figure out how to dance with Trump. How can we make the most of this?"
"There's such a buzz because now all Greenlanders must voice their opinion on whether we should remain under Danish rule, become a U.S. state, or achieve independence," she said.
According to a survey commissioned by the Danish newspaper Berlingske, 85% of Greenlanders do not wish to become part of the U.S., with only 6% supporting such a prospect.
Olsen stated that Trump holds "a very prevalent colonial mindset," thinking that "when Denmark no longer has Greenland, we can just take it."
"That's how colonizers talk to other colonizers," she remarked, adding: "We are people."
In 2016, 64% of Greenland's residents considered independence "fairly important," according to a survey published in the Greenlandic newspaper Sermitsiaq. A 2017 survey conducted for the Danish Broadcasting Corporation showed that nearly 80% of citizens and politicians in Greenland would reject independence if it led to a decline in their quality of life. This could very well happen if independence resulted in the cessation of the Danish block grant, upon which the territory heavily relies.
As is often the case in debates of such complexity and significance, there is no set of fixed options regarding what form independence might take.
At least, not at this moment.
And most people acknowledge that any independent Greenlandic government would need to rely on allies and support, albeit by its own choice.
Trump's recent attention has reminded Greenlanders of their potential as a resource-rich territory with significant minerals, as well as the expanding opportunities in the Arctic region due to global warming and melting ice caps.
Christian, a 22-year-old student who recently returned from an exchange program in South Carolina, stated that he also supports independence but not a complete break from Denmark.
"I think Greenland is really aiming for independence in terms of governance and everything else. So it's great that Denmark supports Greenland financially and economically," he said.
"But I understand why the U.S. is interested in this because they are obviously very keen on Greenland's geopolitical position and all the resources they can acquire."
The indigenous people of Greenland are Inuit but hold Danish passports. The possibility of having their own is just one of the prospects of independence for the Inuit of Greenland, who make up the overwhelming majority of the population, says MP Pele Broberg, representing the Naleraq party, which advocates for independence.
He actively welcomes Trump's interest in Greenland and believes there is great potential for agreeing on a broader U.S. presence.
"My first reaction was 'finally,' because he said the same thing in 2019 when he expressed a desire to buy Greenland - and I don't support the idea of a purchase - but back then I was the only politician who said that for the first time since we were annexed in '53, another country has stated that Greenland actually has value," he told Euronews.
"I welcome a U.S. military presence, and we are not opposed to them building new bases," he said.
"One of the things we've been advocating for in an independent scenario is that we would like to establish a defense agreement with the U.S. We don't see a future for an independent country without a defense agreement with the U.S. And secondly, we have been trying to establish trade between the U.S. and Greenland for a very long time," he said regarding the potential implications of Trump fulfilling his demands.