”As Greenland comes under the international spotlight, native Greenlanders are speaking out about the realities of living under Danish rule, saying their future has been ‘stolen.’
In an exclusive report,
The New York Post spoke with native Greenlanders about some of the disturbing abuse under Danish rule, including hundreds of Greenlandic women and girls who were forcibly given contraception between 1960 and 1991. Between 1966 and 1970, over 4,500 women and girls, some as young as twelve, had an intra-uterine device (IUD)
implanted.
The forced contraception was part of centuries of Danish policies that dehumanized Greenlanders and their families and included policies that
removed young Inuit children from their parents.
The 1951
“Little Danes” experiment removed Inuit children from the country and sent them to live with Danish foster families for reeducation and controversial parental competency tests, which “resulted in the forced separation of Greenlandic families.”
From The New York Post:
Amarok Petersen was 27 years old when she learned the gut-wrenching truth about why she couldn’t have children — and that Denmark was to blame.
Suffering from severe uterine problems, a medical doctor discovered an IUD birth control device in her body that she didn’t know she had.
Danish doctors had implanted it when she was just 13 as part of a population control program for thousands of native Greenlandic girls and women.
“I will never have children,” Petersen told The Post, with tears of anger and sorrow welling in her eyes. “That choice was taken from me.”
Following a two-year
investigation, independent researchers have released a report on the forced sterilization. Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen,
issued an apology to Greenland.
In an August 2025 written statement, Frederiksen wrote, “We cannot change what has happened. But we can take responsibility. Therefore, on behalf of Denmark, I would like to say: I apologise.”
She also acknowledged the case had caused “anger and sadness for many Greenlanders and many families” and damaged perceptions of Denmark. Even without the full picture (pending ongoing investigation), it made a “serious impression” that so many women reported abuse by the Danish healthcare system.
During a ceremony in Nuuk on September 24, 2025,
Frederiksen stated, “On behalf of Denmark, I apologise.”
“It had been a betrayal that had major consequences for Greenlandic girls.”
“I don’t believe we can achieve the more equal and proper relationship that many of us desire unless we dare opening even the darkest chapters. Therefore, the apology I offer today is not only about the past. [It is] about the mutual trust that must exist between us.”
“But I hope it can stand as recognition that what you went through was wrong, that it was a betrayal, and that the responsibility no longer lies on you but on us.”
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