Reconciliation Requires Courage ⁃ Mette Frederiksen’s apology should only be a beginning
OPINON / COMMUNITY
Author:
Nauja Bianco
Photographs:
Kristjan Fridriksson
September 2025
As the Danish Prime Minister arrives in Nuuk to deliver an official apology to the victims of the IUD campaign, her apology marks more than a ceremonial gesture. It marks a new challenge in Denmark’s growing, formidable exercise in confronting a history long denied, minimized, or silenced — Denmark’s uneasy reckoning with human rights violations and colonialistic atrocities committed in Kalaallit Nunaat, Greenland.
For an apology to carry weight, it must be given sincerely and received openly. The moment is formidable and complex for Greenlanders as well, raising a different challenge: to accept or reject the apology, to weigh words against history, and to decide what role, if any, the apology should play in shaping Kalaallit Nunaat’s path ahead.
Let us understand reconciliation as a lifelong project - for everyone in the Realm - and as an action between people, not something that can only be understood with the brain, but something that must be lived, felt, and experienced in the heart. JONAA@Kristjan Fridriksson
Compensation must follow apologies for violations
The relationship between Greenland and Denmark has undergone significant development in terms of confronting its colonial past. No other Danish prime minister has previously been willing or able to do this.
It was a “milestone” when an apology was issued in December 2020 for the violation of the rights of the so-called “experiment children” who were sent to Denmark in the 1950s. It was also a milestone when Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on August 27, 2025, issued an apology for the IUD case (the Danish state’s family planning for Greenland and decision to insert intrauterine devices into up to 4,000 girls and women, in many cases without their consent) - now to be marked and given directly in Nuuk to the victims who may be present, as well as to Naalakkersuisut (the Greenlandic government) and Inatsisartut (the Greenlandic parliament).
But apologies for violations of rights cannot stand alone. Some form of compensation almost always follows them. That is probably also why previous Danish governments have not wanted to address past injustices - aside from the fact that it is always difficult for us humans to face our own mistakes. The experiment children each received compensation of 250,000 DKK (there were 6 survivors out of the 22 involved). 143 Greenlandic women have sued the Danish state for breaches of their human rights as a result of the IUD campaign, and it is expected that they will also receive compensation.
The decision to conduct a historical inquiry was made back in 2022, with one crucial condition: it should be led from the Greenlandic side. That is why it was essential to find a research team with a delicate balance of participants from both Greenland and Denmark. This, along with other factors, contributed to the fact that the actual start of the work did not happen until pressure mounted, - finally beginning on September 3, 2025.
Unequal power relations between Greenlanders and Danes
Without prejudging the important work and conclusions of this historical inquiry, I think we can already expect that it will reveal unequal power relations between Greenlanders and Danes as a result of colonialist “logic”; discrimination against Greenlanders in their own country; decisions about Greenland being made 4,000 km away by people with a completely different cultural understanding; and a young nation left with deep feelings of inferiority. This is something we, both in Greenland and Denmark, must be conscious of.
But reports alone will not suffice. Neither the IUD report nor the forthcoming historical inquiry can in themselves create reconciliation. The inquiry is meant to contribute to a shared recognition of the past and has the ambition of “laying the groundwork for reconciliation.” However, it remains unclear whether it will actually provide recommendations on what reconciliation could look like.
And, we must assume, reconciliation is what we want in the Greenlandic-Danish relationship?
What does it really mean to reconcile? The dictionary defines reconciliation as “the establishment of a friendly relationship with a former enemy or opponent.” Or “the action of making one view or belief compatible with another.” In other words: uniting otherwise conflicting perspectives.
When we are dealing with a long-term historical relationship rooted in colonialism and marked by (unequal) power dynamics, as between Greenland and Denmark, reconciliation means setting aside biases about the past and present; looking at history with new eyes; making an effort to hear other perspectives on the truth that we have taken for granted; and wanting to improve and strengthen the relationship.
Forming a Reconciliation Commission is relevant
Reports may help us see the relationship differently, open up for new insights, and listen to voices not previously heard, but they will not improve or strengthen relations alone. For that to happen, more active steps are required. This is when the question of a reconciliation commission becomes relevant.
The most natural next step - either now or once the historical inquiry is completed - is the establishment of a Reconciliation Commission. But what kind of reconciliation commission? And how?
We can draw inspiration from other reconciliation commissions. The “classic” example is South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, established in 1995 to examine violations of black South Africans’ rights under apartheid (1960-1994). Its 1998 report emphasized truth-telling and healing rather than punishment.
Closer to home, Norway, Sweden, and Finland have, within the past five years, established reconciliation commissions to address injustices against the Sámi—the Indigenous peoples of the Nordic countries, comparable in some ways to the Inuit, the Indigenous people of Greenland.
In Norway, the commission examined and documented the “Norwegianization” (assimilation) of the Sámi and its consequences, while also proposing reconciliation measures. Its recommendations fell under five themes: (1) knowledge and communication, (2) language, (3) culture, (4) conflict prevention, and (5) implementation of existing laws and regulations. Results included a proposal for a national competence center on assimilation injustices (theme 1) and mandatory education for officials at the municipal and state levels about Indigenous peoples (theme 5).
But the real inspiration for the Greenland-Denmark relationship may come from Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which is still ongoing today and described as “an ongoing process addressing the legacy and history of colonial policies affecting Indigenous Peoples.”
This is especially relevant because one of the Indigenous groups included in Canada is the Inuit - Kalaallit’s cousins across the ocean. Canada’s commission was established in 2008 as part of a settlement regarding the Residential Schools to investigate and document the harm done to Indigenous peoples.
Between 2008 and 2015, it collected testimony from more than 6,500 survivors and concluded that the Residential School system amounted to cultural genocide. Its report included 94 “Calls to Action” outlining steps toward reconciliation. It also established the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation, mandated to preserve the true story of the Residential Schools, to support healing, and to carry this out through research, documentation, storytelling, public education, and campaigns.
The 94 action points provide a comprehensive framework for reconciliation, encompassing a range of issues from addressing the legacy of colonialism to reforms in justice, education, welfare, healthcare, and Indigenous rights. The National Center provides resources for awareness-raising and concrete actions, enabling individuals and institutions alike to deepen their understanding and foster reconciliation.
Common to the reconciliation commissions in South Africa, Norway, and Canada is that they all investigated and documented human rights violations, identified responsibility, and sought to restore justice and/or the sense of justice through courts and compensation. They all aimed at reconciliation, understanding, forgiveness, and reform - to prevent future violations.
They are examples worth following, and Greenland and Denmark should draw inspiration from them.
Reconciliation does not come by itself. In Canada, the process began in 1996 with a national day celebrating Indigenous peoples (June 21 - incidentally, also Greenland’s national day). In 2006, the Residential School settlement came. In 2015, the TRC report was released with its 94 Calls to Action. In 2024, the National Council for Truth and Reconciliation was established to monitor and support implementation. That process has now been ongoing for nearly 30 years.
Things take time. And that’s why we need a reconciliation process between Greenland and Denmark now.
If we in Greenland and Denmark truly want reconciliation, it is not enough to hide behind reports and inquiries. These documents risk ending up on some shelves in the relevant ministry, collecting dust, or being used as an exercise for the elite only. We need to sit down together - Greenlanders and Danes, politicians and citizens, experts and ordinary people - and take responsibility for how we want to live with our shared history in the future.
A Truth and Reconciliation Commission between Greenland and Denmark should therefore have clear and binding tasks:
Truth and voices – testimonies from both Greenlanders and Danes must be heard and documented. Not only official accounts, but lived experiences.
Compensation and consequences – reconciliation without real consequences for the Danish state risks becoming an empty gesture. Mechanisms must ensure both financial and symbolic restitution.
Education and awareness – history must be taught in schools, shown in museums, and shared in public, not as a footnote, but as an integrated part of the Kingdom’s self-understanding.
Ongoing commitment – inspired by Canada: a permanent center or council, not only to conclude but to continuously remind us of how fragile reconciliation is, and how important it is to sustain it.
Reconciliation requires courage. Courage to admit mistakes. Courage to listen. Courage to endure discomfort. Courage to apologize. Courage to forgive. Courage to act. Without this courage, apologies risk becoming just another chapter in a long tale of Danish self-satisfaction and Greenlandic inferiority, benefiting no one.
So my appeal is this: let us go beyond the idea that reconciliation is a final report, a box to be checked, an event in the calendar, or a nice speech by a prime minister or a premier. Instead, let us understand reconciliation as a lifelong project - for everyone in the Realm - and as an action between people, not something that can only be understood with the brain, but something that must be lived, felt, and experienced in the heart.
If we truly want to be able to look each other in the eye and maintain - even strengthen - our relationship 30 years from now, then now is the time to take the first step. The rest depends on whether we dare to walk the path together. ▢
“Reconciliation requires courage. Courage to admit mistakes. Courage to listen. Courage to endure discomfort. Courage to apologize. Courage to forgive. Courage to act. Without this courage, apologies risk becoming just another chapter in a long tale of Danish self-satisfaction and Greenlandic inferiority, benefiting no one”
“The real inspiration for the Greenland-Denmark relationship may come from Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which is still ongoing today and described as “an ongoing process addressing the legacy and history of colonial policies affecting Indigenous Peoples”
“If we in Greenland and Denmark truly want reconciliation, it is not enough to hide behind reports and inquiries. These documents risk ending up on some shelves in the relevant ministry, collecting dust, or being used as an exercise for the elite only. We need to sit down together - Greenlanders and Danes, politicians and citizens, experts and ordinary people - and take responsibility for how we want to live with our shared history in the future.”
Nauja Bianco was born and raised in Nuuk - the capital of Greenland. She is partly Greenlandic, partly Danish. Her paternal grandfather’s side is from the area of Tasiilaq in Eastern Greenland, while her maternal grandfather’s side is from Klitmøller, Denmark (also called “Cold Hawaii”). She has a master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Aarhus, Denmark, and Sciences Politique á Lille, France supplemented with communication. She’s currently undertaking a coach education. Most of her career has been centered around Greenland, the Arctic, the Nordic countries, and the EU within international relations, foreign and security policy, and diplomacy. Besides Greenland, she has lived in the USA; Brussels, Belgium; Toronto, Canada, and now lives in Copenhagen, Denmark. In August 2020 she was appointed CEO of the Greenlandic House and the North Atlantic House in Odense, Denmark. The Greenlandic House is a platform for educational counseling of Greenlandic students in Denmark, social work and counseling of Greenlanders living in Denmark, and cultural exchange. The North Atlantic House is a cultural house displaying arts and culture from the North Atlantic countries of Iceland, Faroe Islands, and Greenland through exhibitions, events, debates, and much more. Nauja has been a contributing member of JONAA’s advisory board since 2018.
Kristjan Fridriksson is an Icelandic photographer, graphic designer and visual artist, who for over two decades has specialised in Greenland as a film and photography location expert, working with his safety team of two Inuit hunters on extreme and remote locations. During this time he has also spent months each year and in all seasons, documenting life and culture, especially on Greenland’s East coast and built up an extensive photography archive from Greenland. His visual documentation also covers Iceland, the Faroe Islands, the USA, Russia, Norway and South America. Kristjan has published photography books on Denmark and Greenland, e.g. the acclaimed "Ammassalik - A Jewel in the Arctic Crown" published in 1997. He has since 2012 worked on his next Greenland book titled “Thomasine’s World” which is set for publication in 2021. Kristjan is a founding member of the JONAA photojournalistic team.
A Danish version of this article was published in Politiken on September 21st, titled “Mette Frederiksens undskyldning bør kun være begyndelsen”.
Disclaimer: Opinion articles published in JONAA are written by a selected group of people, based throughout our circumpolar High North region - or people based elsewhere in the world, but with a particularly valuable and informed perspective on High North and Arctic affairs and matters. The primary purpose of the Opinion series is to inform and shed light on diverse matters of our region, its people and environment from personal perspectives of the authors. Views, thoughts and opinions expressed in Opinion articles belong solely to the authors personally and do not reflect the views or opinions of JONAA, Journal of the North Atlantic & Arctic, or its editors, nor the views or opinions of the authors in any representative capacity unless expressly stated to the contrary. Information contained in our published Opinion series articles are believed to be reliable, but JONAA does not verify for accuracy or completeness any information or views put forth in Opinion articles and accepts neither responsibility nor liability for the content of Opinion articles. 2020©All rights reserved. Readers are permitted to share links to all JONAA articles & photo stories in their entirety on social media, but no part of any JONAA published work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.
