HSTA and NEA presidents attend education and solidarity summit in Greenland

A world apart, yet connected by common values and issues

It was my honor to be invited by NEA President Pringle to join her in Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland) for a first-of-its-kind convening of unions in support of our siblings of IMAK, the Greenlandic national teachers union based in the capital city of Nuuk. The summit included panels, group discussions, and an introduction to the culture and values of the native Greenlanders. The second day included a march to the national parliament with a speech by their prime minister and a visit to a new school opening in August and to the University of Greenland to learn more about their Institute of Learning educator preparation program.

Following the lighting of the qulliq (a traditional Inuit oil lamp) and traditional songs and dances, IMAK’s president Elna Heilmann kicked off the summit declaring, “The future of Greenland is Greenlanders!” She also proclaimed, “We will never tolerate that this will be taken from us.” President Pringle, in her role as the Vice President, North America and Caribbean of Education International, echoed that the teachers of the world stand with Greenland and that we all have to “not just fight, but have a dream of what we want.”

With the United States threatening to take over Greenland and with the struggles that Greenlanders have trying to maintain their native tongue, Kalaallisut, the parallels to what has taken place in Hawaiʻi with language and cultural annihilation and assimilation were uncanny. Presenters from various countries also discussed how their native languages were also losing ground to English with the English-speaking culture being so dominant globally, especially as children spend hours on English speaking YouTube channels and other social media outlets. Similar concerns were expressed by panelists from Nunavut, Canada with the Inuit language of Inukitut, from Norway with the Sámi languages that span Norway, Sweden, Finland, and into Russia, from the Faroe Islands with their Faroese, and in Mexico with their multitude of indigenous languages. After traveling over 5,000 miles to attend and present about ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, its near demise, and its resurgence in recent years, my presentation was well received. You’re welcome to see the slides from my presentation at https://bit.ly/hstaimaksolidarity.

Colonization perks for some, trauma for others

In chats with IMAK’s President Heilmann, she let me know some of the disparities which exist for teachers in Greenland compared to those from Denmark. While Greenland is considered an autonomous, self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, Greenlanders continue to be at the bottom of a two-tiered system within the teaching ranks. Teachers recruited from Denmark usually have access to superior benefits including subsidized staff housing, covered relocation flights for entire families (including paid roundtrip airfare each summer), retention bonuses for remaining in Greenland, and higher pension contributions. Local teachers do not have any access to those added financial incentives which doesn’t help local teacher recruitment. Instead, IMAK members work in many rural locations where they struggle to find the personnel to teach. Many of their teachers remain uncertified and unable (and unmotivated) to earn their teaching credentials.

Generational trauma also exists for Greenlanders in dealing with the Danish government. To control the growing native Greenlander population (and save money on welfare and infrastructure), the Danish medical authorities systematically fitted thousands of Greenlandic females with intrauterine devices (IUDs) without their knowledge. This included girls (some who were 12 years old and younger) during routine school medical exams or other unrelated procedures and without notifying parents. While this happened between 1960 and 1991, only late last year, in the heat of the geopolitical turmoil, did the Danish government finally acknowledge the atrocities and offer a formal apology and financial compensation for nearly 4,500 women who were violated in this way. Nonetheless, the damage to generations of indigenous Greenlanders has already been exacted and no financial recompense will undo the cultural genocide silently inflicted upon the thousands of women and the families they would never be able to have.

Common struggles, many solutions

Similar to our Hawaiian Education Committee, the Norwegian educator union, UEN, has formed their own Sámi Committee to address language, identity, belonging, and what futures their children are allowed to imagine.

In Mexico, their educator union, SNTE, is doing their own work with the government and other entities to preserve languages and cultures, promote respect and inclusion, uplift cultural diversity as a social asset, and recognize that indigenous peoples are a living present and a fundamental part of society. With the help of UNESCO, they have published a specialized pedagogical toolkit to strengthen bilingual and bicultural teaching practices in their indigenous schools.

The Faroe Islands are a small set of islands to the north of the United Kingdom and halfway between Norway and Iceland and are also an autonomous territory of Denmark. To address the declining use of Faroese, the Faroese Teachers’ Union, with governmental support, created their own non-profit publishing company. Since 1956, the company has published approximately 70 books in Faroese and distributes them both locally and globally for those who request them. They also publish two Faroese language magazines distributed seven times a year, one for younger students through the third grade and another for older students through the seventh grade.

In discussions, IMAK came away with many ideas from the summit about how they might address their issues including possible language policy changes to equalize Kalaallisut with Danish and English, financial incentives, and instilling pride in Greenlandic culture to encourage more people, including students, to learn and use their language. Research overwhelmingly points to mother tongue instruction as being more effective for cognitive, literacy, and academic development and I hope that IMAK can make progress in their efforts.

Solidarity!

The second day of the summit involved a march to the Greenland Parliament, Inatsisartut (“those who make the law”). With a banner declaring “The teachers of the world stand with Greenland,” participants walked through the capital city chanting, “Greenland, not for sale!” Upon arrival, multiple parliamentarians greeted us at the entrance of Inatsisartut with Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen acknowledging our efforts and expressing his appreciation. He concluded by saying, “Thank you so much for being here. We appreciate it a lot!”

Multiple top leaders from various educational worker unions spoke to show their solidarity with the people of Greenland, including NEA’s President Pringle:

“I know you are standing up to this bully and you are saying, ‘Hell, no! We will keep our resources! We will keep what is important to our people! We will continue to work for self-determination in this country!’ And I am here to tell you, ‘You are not alone! We are standing strong with you in solidarity today, tomorrow, forever! Greenland’s future is Greenlanders!’”

Wrapping up and final thoughts

The summit concluded with a visit to a new school and the University of Greenland’s Institute of Learning. With modern facilities and innovative learning environments, Atuarfik Inussuk is a brand new school in the heart of Nuuk slated to open this August to over 1,000 students. The opening comes after a two year delay because of issues with the fire prevention system. Most of the students have been in makeshift spaces across Nuuk for the past few months because two of the elementary schools had to be abruptly shut down due to severe toxic mold infestations. As with Hawaiʻi, safe learning and teaching environments and aging infrastructure continue to be issues to deal with.

The University of Greenland continues to wrangle with how to best serve Greenland and fill the educator shortage on the island. Greenlandic culture is integrated into all subjects with the hope that their pupils will become active, participating citizens in Greenland. Once again, as with Hawaiʻi, recruitment of educators is difficult and educator preparation programs are struggling to graduate enough educators to fill the need.

Participants were treated to an additional excursion day in the fjords of Greenland. The natural beauty stands in stark contrast to that of Hawaiʻi, but is equally as stunning and worthy of protection. Along the way were whale and seal sightings and the dodging of ice as we made our way towards a glacier. Despite the harsh conditions, native Greenlandic Inuit cultures made use of their environment in innovative ways, ways that need to be treasured and kept from extinction. Like the “Hawaiian Renaissance” of the 1960s and 1970s, I hope that Greenland can revitalize their culture in similar ways, but those ways will take time and teaching children to be proud of and learn about their traditions and language will be fundamental to that revitalization.

I want to express my gratitude to President Pringle for this opportunity, to IMAK and President Elna Heilmann and Education International for making this summit happen, and to all who are showing their solidarity with Greenland in their time of distress. For Greenlanders, I hope the theme of the summit will continue to light the way: Nothing about us without us.