The US president's talk about taking control has come at a time when many on the island are already considering their future

Trump’s fascination with Greenland is not a new idea. For more than a thousand years, colonial aspirations have shaped the island’s history. The Norse, Danes, Nazis, and Americans came to Greenland chasing territory and natural resources, and for military domination of the Arctic.

Some of Trumps threats to take over Greenland, Canada, and the Panama Canal are based on actual U.S. strategic goals. Others are just idiotic.

Greenland has recently drawn global attention, yet much of the coverage centers on US and Danish perspectives rather than what Greenlanders themselves want.