Paula Gerstenblatt, Ph.D., is a professor of Social Work at the University of Southern Maine. Jan Piribeck, MFA, is an emerita professor of art at the University of Southern Maine.

The United States has gained international notoriety for its aggression toward the semi-autonomous territory of Greenland, which is ruled by the Kingdom of Denmark. We are writing to share with Maine readers our experiences in Greenland and issue a call to action for opposition to the U.S. acquisition of our neighbor to the north.

The northern tip of Maine is approximately 1,500 miles from the southern tip of Greenland. Maine and Alaska are critical U.S. neighbors to the Arctic. We agree with Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska that the U.S. should focus on continued partnership with Greenland rather than possession. 

We are faculty researchers who helped form Maine-Greenland Collaborations, a project that explored cultural, environmental and socioeconomic changes facing coastal communities in Maine and Greenland. We visited Greenland three times from 2022-23 to gain a deeper understanding of the people, history and culture with the goal of building relationships based on reciprocity and trust.

While our work was productive in traditional academic measurements, it is difficult to quantify the value of time spent getting to know each other over meals, sharing common and divergent lived experiences, baking together and hiking breathtakingly beautiful landscapes with our Greenlandic friends.

The current climate of aggression jeopardizes tangible benefits derived from these partnerships, which include addressing complex social problems, sharing deep ecological knowledge, celebrations of rich histories and cultures and bonding through entrepreneurial spirit.

We brought our work home to Maine in multiple ways. A partnership was formed between the University of Southern Maine and the University of Greenland with three faculty/student exchanges between the social work departments.

USM hosted two panel discussions with U.S. and Greenlandic faculty and students, and USM Social Work faculty participated in the Social Summit III in Ilulissat, Greenland. We screened the film “SUMÉ — THE SOUND OF A REVOLUTION “ at Cove Street Arts in Portland. The documentary shows how the 1970s rock band SUMÉ dared to sing in Greenlandic, which influenced the political process of establishing Home Rule. 

Maine is already feeling the consequence of President Trump’s intentions, which are disrupting relationships that took years to establish. Recently, a colleague from Greenland was required by their institution to cancel a collaborative proposal with USM faculty for a conference in Canada. One of the lead singers in SUMÉ declined his stipend for participating in a remote Q & A about the film. 

There is no logic behind “taking” Greenland for national security reasons. The U.S military’s history with Greenland began during WWII when U.S. bases were established at the invitation of the Danes to protect Greenland during the German occupation. A 1951 agreement between the U.S. and Denmark granted the U.S. extensive rights to operate defense facilities in Greenland. This agreement is still in effect, and in fact, Greenland joined this pact in 2004. Therefore, what is President Trump’s bluster about? 

We should work toward multilateral agreements that respect the rights of local cultures, spur economic prosperity and ensure environmental sustainability. Citizens of Maine and the U.S. need to refute Donald Trump’s ludicrous claim that the U.S. needs Greenland for national security. Urge your senators and representatives to move across party lines to restore democratic processes in Congress and advocate for partnerships and not possession of Greenland.