00:00Greenland's Inuits are reclaiming their identity as the independence debate grows.
00:07During colonial rule, Denmark enforced assimilation policies, unofficially banning the Inuit language,
00:14forced sterilizations and the removal of children from their families to be placed in Danish
00:20homes.
00:21Policies which left Greenlanders bitter.
00:27Inuit Greenlander Aviaja Rakiel says it is time for the Inuit people to speak up.
00:32Inuit hasn't been heard.
00:35We have been so isolated for hundreds of years and this time is the time for Inuit to speak
00:43up.
00:44As Greenland regained autonomy in the late 20th century, its population is still made
00:50up of 90% Inuit today, most of them which are Lutheran, a faith introduced by Danish
00:56missionaries over 300 years ago.
01:00The sacredness of Christianity is still sacred in my eyes, but so is Buddhism, so is Hinduism
01:08and so is my work.
01:11And that's where I stand in this, that the arising of our culture and us as a people
01:18is also to get the equality within our culture, to acknowledge that our culture is legit.
01:26Some Greenlanders say global interest in their minerals and the push for independence
01:32has allowed them to speak more openly about abuses committed by Denmark.
01:38I used to feel like it was cooler to be a Dane or cooler to be able to speak Danish
01:46where it was embarrassing to practice our traditions.
01:54Greenland is experiencing immigration, with 300 to 400 more people leaving than arriving
02:00each year.
02:02Whether the revival of ancient traditions can reverse the trend remains to be seen.
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