Greenland’s Inuit are reclaiming their spiritual heritage after centuries of suppression

euronews (in English)

As US Vice President JD Vance prepares to visit Greenland, shaman Aviaja Rakel Sanimuinaq is part of a movement reclaiming Inuit traditions once suppressed by colonial rule. Through spiritual healing she and others are reconnecting with their roots.

Transcript

00:00There are two lines at a time, which means our world and the spirit world.

00:08And the distance between those two lines is what we do not know.

00:30Growing up, it was natural for me to speak about the connection with the spirits.

00:42But my mom told me to never speak about it, because it was dangerous.

00:47And I never understood why it was dangerous, because I hadn't experienced my ancestors' suppression.

01:00The sacredness of Christianity is still sacred in my eyes, but so is Buddhism, so is Hinduism, and so is my work.

01:18And that's where I stand in this, that the arising of our culture and us as a people

01:26is also to get the equality within our culture, to acknowledge that our culture is legit.

01:41The generations that you see in here today are the generations that actually believe that we can heal.

01:50I used to feel like it was cooler to be a Dane, or cooler to be able to speak Danish,

01:58where it was embarrassing to practice our traditions.

02:10I began to realize how important it is to accept someone's roots, or my own roots.

02:19Inuit hasn't been heard. We have been so isolated for hundreds of years,

02:26and this time is the time for Inuit to speak up.

02:31We have to liberate ourselves and take the word, take the lead for ourselves.

02:38That's why I feel hope.

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